


The Devil and the Cat

by Djaeka



Series: The Devil and the Cat [1]
Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Miraculous, F/M, Gen, Marichat, actual cat chat noir, multi-chapter fic
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-09
Updated: 2020-03-29
Packaged: 2020-04-23 18:33:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 19
Words: 47,794
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19156621
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Djaeka/pseuds/Djaeka
Summary: Deciding her friend needs a new pet, Alya drags Marinette to an animal shelter. Marinette opposes the idea until a certain black cat worms his way into her heart. When she accepts Chat into her life, Marinette finally begins to overcome the many difficulties in her life. And all signs point to the new addition to her home being responsible. But there’s no such thing as magical cats, is there?





	1. Chat Noir

“I’m serious Alya, I _do not_ need a cat.” Marinette reluctantly allowed herself to be dragged into the animal shelter, knowing she’d never escape Alya’s grip on her wrist. They were going into that shelter despite her complaints, but Alya couldn’t make her pick one to take home.

“Mari, no one _needs_ a cat,” Alya declared, oblivious to the glares of the nearby shelter workers. Marinette grinned at them nervously, hoping her obvious discomfort might defuse their tempers.

“-some companionship might do you good! As long as you don’t pick a cat like _Freckles_.” Alya’s face darkened as she remembered the evil little calico who’d eventually run away from home a few years back after tormenting the family for a decade. “I swear that cat was the devil.”

“Can I help you ladies with something?” The clerk spoke stiffly and Marinette stifled a groan at her best friend’s lack of tact. Proving that point, Alya slammed her hands on the desk dramatically before speaking.

“Absolutely! My friend here-“ Marinette batted Alya’s frantically waving arms away from her face, “needs a cat.”

“I don’t _need_ a-“

“Wants a cat.” Alya finished.

The man glanced between the two women, clearly baffled by the exchange. Eyebrows raised to his hairline, he fished a clipboard out from under the desk. He slid it across the desk and handed Marinette a pen.

“O-kay. Sign in here and if I could see your ID please. Are…you coming along miss?” He hesitated slightly as he turned to address Alya as well.

“Yup!” She crowed.

He sighed heavily. “Okay. Then I’ll need your signature and ID as well please.” Both women complied, Alya cheerfully and Marinette a bit more resigned. Paperwork finished, the man led them back through the door behind him. Following Alya through, Marinette noted the playful black cat motif on the door.

“So our options are pretty broad today, if you’re looking for anything specific in a pet. Color or temperament or whatever.” Mari sighed. If she had to do this anyway…

“Calm temperament please. Quiet is good. I can have them around while I’m working, but it’s best if they’re not too clingy.” He nodded.

“I think I’ve got a couple that might fit the bill for you. You can wait here and I’ll bring the first one out.” Marinette and Alya walked through the door he held and glanced into the small, cat-themed playroom. Alya chose to hover by the door while Mari folded herself into one of the floor cushions near a cat tower. She pointedly ignored Alya’s smug looks in her direction.

By the time the man brought a sweet looking tabby in, Marinette was itching to leave. It wasn’t that she didn’t like the idea of a pet, she just… didn’t have the time or energy for it.

 _Better not get attached to any of them, since they’re not coming home with me._ But she smiled all the same at Alya cooing and excitedly playing with the fluffy cat in front of her. Marinette held her hand out and waited for the cat to approach her. A sniff later and the cat showed how much it clearly preferred Alya, ignoring Marinette entirely in her favor. She smiled patiently up at the man. “Probably not. She might be leaving with this one though,” she gestured to her friend.

The attendant chuckled knowingly and headed for the door. “We definitely have others. I’ll bring a friend for Trixx here.”

When the man reappeared, he held a rather large black cat and was followed into the room by another worker leading several more people into the room. He promised to return with a few more cats so they could see how they all played together, and once more disappeared out the door.

“Mommy! I want the black kitty!” Mari jumped as a high pitched squeal emitted from a small girl who’d walked in with the group. The child ran toward the unfortunate recipient of her attention and the feline sprinted away from her. Seeing nowhere else to turn, he leapt over Marinette. He landed neatly, if a bit heavily, on the cat tower right behind her. She glared for a moment and spoke directly to the cat.

“Rude. You could have gone around me.”

The cat stopped licking its paw for a moment, narrowed its eyes, and went back to cleaning itself. Marinette shrugged and turned to watch the other occupants of the room. The little girl was flitting from animal to animal, frantically pursuing each one in turn. Her parents were on their phones, ignoring the girl’s antics. When the girl managed to run near Marinette on the heels of another poor cat, she stopped the girl gently.

“Hello, sweetheart, what’s your name?” She smiled invitingly at the little girl.

“Manon!” She rocked back a bit at the enthusiastic answer.

“Hello Manon! I see you like the kitties here. Would you like me to teach you how to help the kitties to like you too?”

“Oh yes! None of them like me,” she pouted. Mari bit her lip to avoid smiling too widely at the girl.

“Alright, so cats like when people are _quiet_ and _calm_ when they first meet. So, if you sit quietly it helps,” Mari moved to a crouch and held her hand out toward a little grey kitten with a black paw. Clicking her tongue softly, she waited patiently for the tiny animal to approach her. The kitten sniffed her hand twice and nudged her palm gently with its head. Marinette slowly turned her hand over and placed it on the kitten’s back, stroking lightly.

“See? Nice and calm. They don’t know you right now, so they need a little time to get to know who you are. Let the kitten pick you, instead of the other way around.” She turned to the open-mouthed child, who promptly copied her actions.

Minutes later, the girl had a lightly purring kitten on her lap and was squealing softly at her smiling parents. She thanked Mari as they left with the cat, and Marinette sat back in her seat. Alya caught her eye, the first cat into the room still resting comfortably on her lap.

“Made your choice, then?” She grinned knowingly at her friend. Alya pursed her lips but said nothing. Marinette started to close her eyes, prepared to wait for Alya to decide she really couldn’t leave the cat behind. She caught a blur of movement out of the corner of her eye, and turned to see the black cat from earlier approaching her. More like stalking me.

“Kitten, you don’t want me.”

Her flat statement stopped him in his tracks. She tilted her head. He…looked like he actually understood me. She continued, leaning a bit closer as he looked on warily, “See, I’m not sure I really have the time to properly take care of you. I’m busy all the time, always drawing or dealing with my job. I can’t even get past a second date because I just keep having to cancel. So I’m not a good fit, petit chat noir. Find someone else, okay?”

The cat sat down heavily. Tilting his head, he simply stared at her. Marinette’s eyebrows came together as she contemplated the reaction. But as he continued to stare, she eventually shrugged it off and closed her eyes again. She didn’t hear him, but she certainly felt the cat landing directly on her bladder as he tried to jump into her lap. She made an incoherently irate noise and spluttered.

“Chat! I said no!” she hissed at him. He settled himself comfortably on her lap and stared directly into her eyes. Acid green lit up her vision as Marinette glared down at the cat. He gave an exaggerated yawn and walked in a slow circle before curling up on her lap. Mari made to push him off her lap, but he batted her hands away from his body, giving one thumb a kitten lick before re-settling himself.

“Made your choice, then?” Alya’s voice mockingly drifted across the room.

“Oh my gosh,” a voice whispered breathlessly, and Mari turned to see one of the shelter workers standing nearby with her hand over her mouth. “He hasn’t done that for anyone. He avoids absolutely everybody. You must be very special for him to do that.” She walked over and gestured as the black cat hissed angrily at her approach.

Marinette peered at the cat. “Huh. Why me?”

“No idea. Are you… maybe taking him home though?” The worker asked, sounding nervous and hopeful.

“No other takers, I’m assuming?” Alya asked, carrying her tabby over. The cat in her arms promptly started clawing at her to stop their approach.

“No, he’s been here for a while now. He could stay on as a shelter cat, but he’s so unfriendly. We could never let him just roam and interact with people and it’s not fair for him to live in a cage.”

Marinette eyed the cat consideringly. He licked a paw and leaned upward to headbutt her. She gently pushed him back, to his obvious annoyance.

“I’ll think on it a bit. Alya? Are you bringing her home?” She gestured to the tabby.

“Oh, you bet Trixx is coming home with me. She’s the best,” Alya cheered as the cat nuzzled her cheek affectionately.

“Yeah, I’m still thinking I don’t really need a cat.”

Two days later, paperwork had been filled out and the waiting period was finished, Marinette was showing Chat Noir around their home, a bright green leather collar with a shiny golden bell securely around his neck.


	2. Claws

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat gets a tour of the apartment and Marinette meets with her boutique planning committee.

“Alright kitten, this is home.” Marinette reluctantly opened the door on the small carrying case Chat Noir currently resided in and prayed he wouldn’t immediately destroy all of her belongings. If he went after her studio she’d probably just break down in tears.

Chat sniffed the air experimentally, padding forward a couple of steps, looking just as nervous as Marinette felt. Her shoulders relaxed as she continued to watch her poor kitten take each hesitant step forward. She huffed a breath out, annoyed at her own behavior.

“What am I doing, kitten? You’re scared enough. I shouldn’t be making you more nervous just because I don’t want stuff ripped apart. It’s just stuff.” Marinette dropped her bags on the couch nearby and slipped her shoes off. “I’d scoop you up to comfort you, but I’m not sure yet if you like that so…hopefully you’ll follow me around so you can see the apartment.”

Marinette breezed into the kitchen, not bothering to see if Chat followed. She was pleasantly surprised to catch a glimpse of him trotting after her, looking slightly less upset. She waited in the center of the room, pouring herself a glass of water so he had a moment to sniff around at the appliances humming away. Chat poked his nose into the corners, sneezing lightly at the pantry door and finishing his explorations by sitting next to his new food bowl.

“Food and water bowls, kitten. I got you the kind that dispense automatically so you don’t have to wait on me,” Marinette explained as she crouched next to the cat. “I’m guessing, by that display at the shelter, that you’re clever enough not to stuff yourself silly, but I _will_ buy you regular ones and feed you on a schedule if you prove you can’t be judicious with your food supply.” Mari paused as a small fuzzy head brushed against her knee. She smiled down at the- _her_ cat. He’d do fine, she was sure of it. She reached a finger out and brushed gently at the top of his head. Chat closed his eyes and leaned into her touch, allowing Marinette to rub her palm down his back. A slight purr emitted from him and Mari increased the pressure just slightly.

 _It’s hard to believe he was being called “unfriendly”, given how cuddly he’s acting now_ , she thought with a grin.

Marinette held her arms open to show Chat he was welcome in her lap. He complied, but immediately climbed her arms to perch on her left shoulder. Marinette hissed briefly in pain as his claws caught slightly on her bicep. She turned cautiously to continue their tour, heading toward the living room.

“Okay, so living room. I leave cooking shows or music on while I work because I need the background noise. I really hope that doesn’t bother you.” A little nuzzle to her cheek made Marinette smile a bit and she moved across the large living area to where her sewing machine and desk resided.

“This section is my studio. For the love of all things, please don’t break anything over here. Or rip up any of my fabrics,” she sent up another silent prayer to anyone listening that Chat would obey this request. “And then, finally, bedroom down the hall with the bathroom.” She walked him into the bathroom and allowed him to jump off her shoulder onto the counter. He dropped to the floor and sniffed around the litter box she’d placed there. She walked into the bedroom, sure he’d follow when ready. She stopped near the combined cat tree and fluffy kitty bed and watched as he leapt onto it to knead on the cushion. Mari dropped heavily onto the bed, laying back and breathing deeply for a few moments before sitting back up.

“Okay kit-kat, I’ve got to get back to work. Things apparently don’t sew themselves.” Marinette stood, heading back to the living room and settling in at her drawing desk. Chat followed silently beside and slightly behind her, keeping pace easily. He glanced around the room as they entered, settling himself on a small nearby cushion he found. Marinette smiled widely at the choice, a failed attempt at adding ruched fabric to a couch cushion. She continued to watch Chat for a moment before turning the TV on and picking up her pencil.

It was two hours later when her stomach complained loudly, that she realized Chat had stayed by her side the whole time, leaving only to use the litter box or get a drink of water. He’d neither distracted her once nor destroyed a single thing in the apartment.

_What an incredibly well behaved cat you are, Chat._

—

“So, how is Chat behaving for you?” Alya sat across the café table from Marinette, preening and looking smug.

Marinette sighed, surrendering the small amount of pride she’d had left in the situation. “Fine, Alya. He’s extremely well behaved, and he lets me work. He’s very cuddly and loves pets. He refuses to sleep in his cat bed, and he snuggles the small of my back while I sleep. Is that what you wanted to hear?”

Alya’s grin widened to ridiculous proportions. “That’s pretty incredible, considering they couldn’t adopt him out.”

“Adopt who out?” A third person sat at the table, causing Alya to scoot her chair over to make room.

“Mari’s new cat. You’ll have to meet him, Lila, he’s so cute. Not as cute as Trixx of course, but-“

“Don’t cats shed terribly?” Another voice interrupted as its owner plopped into the last remaining seat next to Marinette.

“You take the good with the bad, Chloé.” Alya pointed at the blonde, good-naturedly glaring at her friend.

“Alya, she designs clothes. Isn’t all that fur going to be a nightmare for working around?” Chloé pressed, watching Marinette as she did for a reaction.

Mari shrugged. “Yeah, he sheds. But I got a really good brush and I think as long as I keep a fur roller on hand, I’ll be okay. He’s been really good about staying away from my fabric closet unless I’m there. And hopefully it won’t be the only workroom I have for too much longer.”

“When did you even get a cat?” Lila shifted in her seat, grabbing her phone to answer a soft chime.

“Alya dragged me to the shelter last weekend, we both ended up with cats.” Marinette rolled her eyes, “She’s ridiculous.”

“Excuse you, I am not. You found a cat you actually like.”

“Yeah, but you didn’t need to bully me into getting a cat when it was really you that wanted one,” Marinette thanked the server as she dropped their drink orders at the table with a smile. She sipped her espresso-laden chai carefully and winced as she burned her lips slightly.

“Pff. You just needed a little push.”

“Enabler.”

“Obviously.”

“As interesting as you two squabbling over pets is,” Chloé rolled her eyes and sighed deeply, “I thought we were here to talk about something else.”

“Right!” Marinette set her cup down abruptly, ignoring the sloshing her drink made. “So the location we scouted for a possible shop is still available, but a lot higher priced than we bargained for originally. Since Lila and Chloé are basically funding the boutique, I figured we should talk about whether we want to raise our budget-“

“Absolutely not,” Lila drawled.

“-or try for a less ideal location.” The other three women sighed in unison as they considered their options. Marinette took the opportunity to sip at her drink. Chloé was the first to look up from her phone, where she’d started frantically typing away at something.

“How much above budget is it?”

“About twenty grand,” Marinette flinched as she spoke.

“Ow. Okay.” Chloé glanced over at Lila. “That’s more than I can just casually fork over, especially since there’s going to be significant investments needed once we complete the purchase. I’m assuming that you’re in the same situation?” She raised an eyebrow as Lila’s phone traveled back up to her face.

“I mean, I’m good for it, but I don’t really want to sink everything into a gamble this big,” she stated flatly, never making eye contact with them.

“Okay, then I’ll start looking at the less ideal locations?” Alya looked around at the other women, taking each nod as their consent to the new plan. She jotted a couple of notes down on a pad of paper before settling back in her chair and taking a long drink from her cup.

“How are all those prototypes coming, Mari? Did you manage to nail down premiere outfits for each of us as well as the opening designs?” Chloé excitedly changed the subject, making a light chittering noise as she focused back on Marinette. Marinette sighed heavily in response.

“Sort of. I have some ideas for each of us, but they don’t seem to be _quite_ coming together. I’d…rather not show them yet if that’s alright.”

“Of course, you’re the exp-“

“Of _course_ it’s not okay! Your only job is to do the _clothing_ , how hard is that?” Lila snarled and turned to glare at Chloé. “This is why _I_ should be the designer, I’m so much better at coming up with ideas.”

“Lila, we’ve been over this. You didn’t go to school for fashion design, you did business management and communication. So _that’s_ your job. It looks really bad if our ESMOD graduate isn’t _actually designing the clothes_ ,” Alya patiently replied.

“I know how it looks, but-“

“And furthermore, Mari offered to share designing duties. Produce something, show it to her, and we’ll talk.”

“I am _not_  having someone else evaluate my designs, she should just make them when I give them to her!” Lila’s screeching started to attract the attention of the other patrons and Mari slid down in her seat a little at the stares.

“Lila. Don’t be a jerk,” Chloé interrupted, scowling and looking exasperated. “You know we agreed to a four way split of responsibilities and that means _all_ designs are evaluated by _all_ of us. Marinette’s included. Her opinion just means more on the fashion side because _as I was saying_ , she’s the expert. Shut up until you have something useful to say.”

“How’s this for useful? I’m pulling my side of funding, how do you like that, you b-“

“Guys!” All three women jerked their heads toward Marinette. She groaned and rubbed at her face with both palms, wishing one of these get-togethers wouldn’t end in screaming fits.

“Lila. Do you have designs ready to be sewn?”

“Yeah, I have a few.” Lila crossed her arms and sank into her chair.

“Great. Get them to me. I’ll make mock-ups and the next meeting can be a showing of all the readily available designs we have on hand. _Not a competition, Lila_ ,” she cut in as Lila’s mouth opened, “A showing. So we can pick out what we like about each one and what we don’t. Okay?”

“Fine. Sounds fair. I’ll get the designs to you by Friday.”

“Great. Thank you. Alya, you’re looking for new locations, can you have some options by that next meeting? Two weeks out?”

“Sure, no problem.” Alya shrugged.

“Thanks. Chloé? Are there any options for financial backing that we haven’t explored?”

Chloé cringed before answering. “Yeah, a couple. I’ll hit up who I can and bring other possibilities up as I find them.”  
“Wonderful. That’s everything, I think. Unless anyone else has any other comments?”

“I want my dress _dramatic_. Since you haven’t designed it yet. I’m the face of this little endeavor, and I want my dress to reflect that.” Lila huffed, slouching impossibly further into her chair.

“Fine, I can do that. Dramatic, fancy, in charge.” Marinette rubbed at her temples. “Anything else, Lila?”

“Nope.” She retreated back into her phone and Mari sighed.

“Then meeting’s over guys. Thanks for coming.”

Lila jumped out of her chair and yelled a goodbye on the way out the door. Marinette slid forward until her head hit the tabletop, covering with her arms as the others let out audible sighs of relief.

“God, why do we put up with her?” Alya asked the sky.

“Because I can’t fund us alone, dear,” Chloé replied, patting Alya on the arm.

“And she knows industry people,” came the muffled response from Mari’s buried head.

“She makes this so much harder though,” Alya pressed.

“I know, but we kind of need her. I hate it too, Als.”

Chloé patted Marinette on the shoulder and finished her coffee in two large gulps. “I’ll call my mom, kay? Maybe…maybe she can help.”

“Chloé, don’t do anything you’re not comfortable with,” Mari pleaded, finally lifting her head.

“I’m not. It’ll be fine, it’s been a while since I’ve asked her for anything. Get me some sketches and I’ll gauge interest a bit. I should have some for promo purposes anyway.”

“Alright, I will. Thanks Chloé.”

“Don’t worry about it. Focus on your stuff; you’re doing fine Mari. You’ve been doing this since we were kids. You’ve got this. Oh! Hey, were you able to make my dress yellow? Mom says it’ll be in for spring this year and I want to stay on trend.”

“Yup, sleek, yellow, low back, as requested. Is it okay if I was thinking more along the lines of a pantsuit for you? I think it suits you better, kind of an _in charge_ feel to it.”

“Whatever, I trust you. You’re the designer. And since I’m the _real_ face of this “little endeavor”, pantsuit is fine,” Chloé drawled dramatically, tossing Marinette and Alya a wink as she flipped her hair. They grinned at each other before Chloé’s phone chimed and she threw her hand up in a wave before leaving the shop.

“What a disaster this meeting was.” Alya shook her head disbelievingly.

“At least it’s got to get better from here?” Mari pleaded.

“Don’t jinx us, girl.”


	3. Inspiration

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat offers Marinette some help with a difficult design.

Marinette spoke as clearly as possible through the pins in her mouth as she pinned silky black fabric in place on a dress form. “Yes ma’am, Marinette Dupain-Cheng. I’m looking for information on a request I submitted a while back for a professional recommendation that I never received. Can you please check again?”

She continued to piece the sides of the sleeveless top together while waiting for the woman on the other end to return. The material was light but form fitting, silky without being sheer, and Chloé was bound to love the feel of it.

As she waited, she took in the design, briefly consulting her sketch as she evaluated it. The low V-necked black shirt would blend seamlessly into body-hugging black pants, both tight at the waist to create the illusion of a solid, sleek jumpsuit when the jacket wasn’t worn over it. The jacket itself was meant to be the true showstopper. A pleasant lemon-yellow fabric had jumped out at Marinette the last time she’d been at the fabric store and it had been a perfect color to match with Chloé’s long blond hair. But other than “showstopping” and “three-quarter sleeve”, she was at a loss for the design itself.

Marinette sighed and removed the pins from her teeth, spearing them through the small ladybug pincushion on her wrist. _It’s like every bit of my inspiration is gone._ She startled at the voice over the phone.

“Miss Dupain? I’m sorry, I can’t contact the instructor you asked for and I see no recommendations here. Would you like to try again later?" Hanging her head, Marinette gave the woman a polite goodbye and disconnected.

She spotted Chat's ears perking up while he lay on what had become his cushion whenever she worked on a project. "Kitten, I don't know what to do here. I need those recommendations if we're going to open a boutique. Lila's contacts are gonna be useless if the actual designer doesn't have any industry connections." Chat's tail flicked agitatedly as she spoke, and he padded over to settle himself in her lap, purring softly.

Marinette buried her fingers in his silky fur, trying to ignore her problems for a moment or two. She realized her shoulders had ridden up to rest somewhere near her ears and forcibly relaxed them to their proper locations.

"But I guess even recommendations won’t matter if I don't end up with some inspiration on my designs. They're all so...uninteresting right now. Done to death. Here, see?" She flipped the sketchbook back several pages, showing off the range of rejected options she'd toyed with for Chloé's outfit. Chat watched intently, tilting his head a bit as she explained her ideas and criticisms to him.

"I dunno, Kitten. Maybe I'm just not meant to do this. Maybe it's a sign. None of this boutique stuff has gone the way I wanted it to anyway. Lila used to be so kind and helpful, but recently she's been such a roadblock for everything. Wanting to design, hating all the locations, arguing about price, everywhere I turn, she's fighting me. Not to mention all the locations are either too costly or get snatched up before we can make an offer. What do you think, Chat? Should I call it on the dream?"

A little growl erupted from Chat's throat and he dug his claws gently into her thigh. Mari burst out laughing, amused at the timely coincidence. "All right, you don't want me to quit. So. I suppose even if you feel so strongly, it's too much to ask you to help with this jacket design huh?" Marinette raised Chat to her face, scrunching her nose at him fondly. He made an irritated sound and bolted across the room to perch on the window sill.

"Yeah, thought so. Thanks anyway, Kitten." Marinette turned back to her drawing desk and stared at the page a moment longer before Chat began meowing frantically. Curious, she joined him at the window. She peered out, trying to identify the source of his agitation. A small bee floated on the other side of the glass, roughly at her eye level.

"Oh. Oh, that's okay, Chat. It's not able to get inside, it won't hurt you." The bee slammed it's tiny body into the glass. "Dang. I hope it doesn't hurt itself though."

She went to turn back to her desk, but froze as a tiny spark of an idea bloomed. She sat for a moment by the sill. The little bee buzzed happily along the window area while Chat followed the movement with his eyes, never rotating his head to do so. Marinette tilted her head to the side, letting the idea bubble up like simmering water in her mind. She frowned. It was just out of reach, an effervescent tingle on the back of her tongue. She quickly ran through several word association exercises, an old trick she'd picked up for dealing with art block.

Her eyes widened. "Honeycomb!" she shouted, scrambling inelegantly for her sketchbook while Chat blinked at her from the window. She was clearly more interesting than the bee now and he flicked his ears as he watched her. He slowly joined her after a moment or two.

Marinete sketched rapidly, jotting details down as quickly as she could before she lost them. Pulling swatches from her fabric bin, she began to stitch color samples. Chat licked his paw slowly, a smug tilt to his mouth and head. Mari grinned and scratched lightly behind his ears.

"Yes, Chat, you were very helpful with the jacket design. Thank you." A satisfied meow was the only response.

—

Marinette sang along to the music drifting through every corner of the apartment. She danced while preparing her food, but carefully so she wouldn’t step on Chat by accident. He was fast, but a little extra care wouldn’t hurt either. Dropping chopped parsley into her almost-finished risotto, she spun dramatically to retrieve Chat’s bowl for wet food. She liked feeding him while she ate, he cried less when she did and it seemed more like they were a little family when she did.

“Huh.”

Chat sat on the counter, next to her usual seat. His bowl sat directly in front of him and his eyes appeared expectant.

“Did I- I thought that was on the floor?” She scratched next to her ear, lost in thought for a moment. “I...must have left the bowl on the counter by accident.” She went to grab it, but stopped for a mewl.

“Did you want to eat up here, kitty-cat?”

“Meow.”

“O-kay. Sure. Why not.” She filled the bowl with his canned chicken meal and finished preparing her own dinner. Settling into her seat, she smiled sweetly at Chat. “Thanks for waiting for me.” She kissed the top of his head and they both proceeded to enjoy their meals. Marinette’s smile didn’t fade, pleased as she was with the new dynamic they’d just created.

After dinner, Chat followed Marinette through her evening routine. He settled himself on the bed facing away from her while she changed and groomed himself while she brushed her teeth and hair. He snuggled close in her lap as she read for a few minutes before bed, purring loudly when she slid her free hand into his fur and scratched gently. Pulling the sheets up to her neck, Marinette smiled to feel Chat nuzzling her face before curling up in the hollow her body left from laying on her side. He pressed his head into her stomach, making Marinette giggle and squirm away.

“Chat, that tickles!” He wriggled once more, as if to tease her, and settled himself comfortably. Marinette blew him a kiss before turning off the lights.

“Goodnight, Chat. Sweet dreams.”

“Mroow.”


	4. Designs

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette invites Alya over to work on her dress design, but Chat steals the spotlight.

Marinette let out a deep sigh as she dropped the last pin from her current project back into its container. Her back popped as she stretched her arms over her head and attempted to work out the kinks from the past couple of hours sitting at her sewing machine. Lila had come through on her promise of designs, and she’d spent the last four days working on finalizing all of the stitching on them in time for the meeting date. Lila had sent her six designs, and while two were clean and required no alterations, the other four... They needed significant work in order to be brought to life.

Chat wandered over as he had with the previous designs. He’d been walking calmly around the dress form before letting out little kitty noises (that Marinette had decided to count as approval). The first he’d sniffed at and simply walked away. The second had elicited an aggravated yowl as Marinette giggled and reassured him that the particular shade of red was simply not flattering. He didn’t react much to the next couple, and she didn’t expect much from this one either. Though it was actually a very good design.

Designed in a pleasant shade of lilac, it bore a square upper back with a plunging neckline that transitioned into a criss-crossed empire waist. It was just short of floor length, and the volume of fabric gave the impression of a fluttery, featherlight train. It looked as if it were meant to be only _just_ sheer enough to hint at the shape of the body underneath.

Simply put, it was gorgeous.

And nothing Marinette had designed even came close. She’d saved it for last, uncomfortable with how inferior it made her feel as a designer. She’d spent years in school, working on her craft every free hour of her day. And Lila just whipped out an incredible design like this on a whim. Because she’d felt like she wanted to be a designer today.

Marinette dragged herself out the self-loathing momentarily, focusing on Chat to distract herself.

“Well, Kitten? What’s the verdict?” A sound she could only have described as a growl caused her to stop all movement and look directly at Chat, eyes wide. He stood with legs apart and hackles raised, teeth bared in a snarl. He took minute steps toward the dress until Mari stepped in and scooped him into her arms in a fluid motion. He yelped and struggled, but Marinette held as tightly as possible while walking him into the bedroom.

“Nope, not gonna risk it with that fabric, kitty cat. It was _way_ too expensive even getting the test materials. And since you clearly do _not_ like that dress, you’re not going near it until you can tell me why you hate it.” Chat blinked at her, mouth open just slightly so she could see the tips of his teeth poking out.

“So. You know. Never, basically. Since you can’t talk.” She stood next to the bed and released her grip on Chat. He wriggled and dropped to the bed gracelessly before scrambling under the bed. A slight growling rumble started up and guilt washed over Marinette for making him feel like he had to run away. She shut the door as she left the room, softly adding a “Sorry, Chat,” in a whisper. Returning to the dress, she admired it for a moment longer before carefully packing it away for the upcoming evaluation.

—

Chat pouted all through dinner and the rest of their evening routine, ears low and shoulders hunched up. But he still chose to snuggle up to Marinette come bedtime and she returned the begrudging show of affection by scratching at his ears and chin. She’d moved cautiously to pet him, and was encouraged by the light rumble as she reached his chin. When he tilted his head back to the ceiling to give her more access to the area, she smiled down at him.

“Sorry again for locking you in here today, Chat. I’m not honestly sure why you hate that dress, though. Lila did a gorgeous job of designing that thing. Did I not do it justice somehow?” Chat stiffened momentarily as she spoke, but licked her hand once at the last sentence and she moved on.

“Yeah, I thought I did okay. It’s not the ideal material for it, but to get that gossamer-like flutter was just too far out of my budget for the moment. It’s such a pretty color though, I wonder what inspired her to use that shade.” She resumed scratching when Chat mewled, set a paw on her unmoving hand, and headbutted her slightly. “It’s a little discouraging that she busted out a design like that so quickly. But I think at least I’ve finally got an idea for her “showstopper” dress. I think a vibrant peachy orange would go really well with her skin tone and she’s definitely got the décolletage to pull off a really _plunging_ neckline-“

Marinette jumped at the sensation of teeth gently closing around her hand and stared into Chat’s very green eyes at he practically begged her to stop. He let out a rumbling little growl and stared back intently. Mari grinned sheepishly back at him.

“No work talk at bedtime, huh?” Chat made a little assenting noise and Marinette chuckled.

“Yeah, you’re right. Can’t get all worked up or I won’t sleep. Heaven knows I’ve done _that_ enough times to know better. You’re a smart kitty, Chat. Thanks.” Giving his head one more scratch, Marinette let go of the design for the moment and drifted off.

—

“I’m here to see my dress!” Alya announced her arrival at Marinette’s apartment the way she did everything, enthusiastically and overly vocally. Mari rolled her eyes fondly while she set out the coffee cups and several pastries on a plate. The scent of vanilla and toasted macadamia nuts wafted from the coffee press as it steeped. Alya paused only briefly to breathe the fragrance in deeply.

“Oh man, the good stuff today! What’s the occasion, girl?” She taunted Marinette with a mock suspicious look in her eyes.

“Hoping to entice you into staying long enough to design your dress in person?” Marinette offered the plate of pastries to Alya, turning to depress the filter through the steeped coffee. Alya set her chosen pastry on the plate and made a show of licking her fingers of imaginary crumbs.

“I dunno, it sounds like a pretty big thing to ask of me. Favorite coffee, favorite best friend, cheese and plum filled pastries. Not sure that’s enough bribery. Gonna need something fluffy to pet, too.” An excited yowl tore through the room and Marinette moved the pastries just in time for Chat to land neatly on the counter in front of where they’d been. He glared at her and she raised an eyebrow to stare back challengingly.

“Dang, he doesn’t waste time when he’s being talked about, does he.”

“He’s not here because he heard you talking about him he’s here for cheese. _Every time_ I have it out he tries to steal some and it’s the only thing he does that with. It’s an obsession.” She poked his nose, earning a yelp and a paw to the finger. She spoke to Alya while looking directly at him, “But cats aren’t supposed to _have any dairy_ , so he doesn’t get any.”

Choosing a fruit pastry for herself, Marinette put the pastries on top of the fridge and pulled a shallow bowl of flaked white fish out for Chat. She set it on the counter, hand on hip and waiting until he reluctantly started to nibble at the treat. She turned back to an amused Alya.

“Funny thing is, he seems so angry about the cheese even before I tell him no. Maybe he knows it’ll make him sick but can’t help it?” Alya cackled loudly, taking a bite of pastry.

“That’s hilarious.” She poked Chat’s back haunch and he smacked her hand away without removing his face from his bowl of fish. “You’re so _weird_ , Chat.” He growled halfheartedly between bites and Alya chuckled again.

“Alright, so why do I need to be here for you to make this dress?” Marinette carefully poured coffee into the mugs before answering.

“Not the dress itself, just the design. Basically, I want to make sure it suits you.” She set the mugs of coffee in front of Alya and took a small sip of her own while flipping single-handedly through her sketchbook for reference. “I have plenty of ideas, but it’s hard to say if they’re right for someone when that person isn’t around. As weird as it sounds, it helps to look at you. I can design to your personality without you around, but color schemes are harder for me.”

“Huh. Alright. Glad I don’t really have to think of all that with real estate stuff. Personality and price, sure, but color would throw a lot of kinks into it.” Alya thought for a moment, flaking little bits of pastry off and licking them from her fingertips. “Maybe that’s why we make people paint over certain colors when they list their houses.”

“Probably. Color matters a lot to an individual. So how much time do you have today?”

“I have a date at six, so you’ve got the rest of my day, girl.” Alya sipped her coffee and sighed happily. “Though if you keep the treats coming, I could always cancel...”

“Pff, go on your date, Alya.” Marinette threw a crumb at her friend, grinning at her. They sat quietly eating their pastries and sipping at coffee for a few minutes, enjoying the quiet company. Chat’s happy little noises as he ate and the resulting giggles punctuated the peaceful moments.

“Do you need to go home and change before your date?” Marinette asked once the pastries were finished and dishes cleared.

“Nah, if he doesn’t like me in jeans and a comfy shirt, he’s not gonna like everyday Alya much. But if it goes well and his personality doesn’t suck I might let him see me in the dress you design. Show him I clean up nice and all that.” She winked and the girls giggled together before Marinette picked up her pencil and sketchbook. She opened a drawer under the counter and plopped a bin of colored pencils down.

“Do you keep those there or is your house just one big art bin now?” Alya teased her and Mari stuck her tongue out.

“I put them there this morning, sass-butt.” Chat smacked his mouth a few times, clearly having enjoyed his treat. He stretched lazily before padding over to Alya and pushing his way into her lap. He settled in as she adjusted her legs to accommodate.

“Bossy little thing, isn’t he?”

“You say that like you didn’t watch him bully me into taking him home,” Mari muttered, laying preliminary lines of her sketch.

“Oh, poor Mari, did you bully her?” Alya exaggeratedly spoke to Chat in her best baby voice and Mari dutifully ignored the teasing. “What a hardship, taking a sweet fluffy kitty home.”

Chat purred contentedly at the attention, leaning into the petting as Alya continued to coo at him. He butted her hand anytime she stopped petting for a moment and she quickly fell into a pattern of gentle pets and scratches behind the ears. Her nose wrinkled up in joy as his purr rose to a low jet-engine rumble.

“I thought he didn’t like anyone but you, girl. He is _definitely_ okay with me right now.”

“Mm, I think it takes him time to warm up. And you’re loud, but you’re not jumping at him or chasing him like that little girl did at the shelter. He’s met you before and that helps, I think.” Marinette squinted at her page, crossing potential color choices off as they clashed too dramatically with skin tone or hair. Alya murmured and refocused on the happy cat in her lap.

The girls continued to chat over coffee while Marinette steadily worked through colors and dress styles to suit her friend’s body type. She sighed heavily in relief once she finally settled on the options she’d chosen to move forward with. Marinette setted her materials on the counter-top and stretched her arms overhead, tilting her head side-to-side and twisting slightly.

“Done?” Alya craned her neck, trying not to dislodge Chat while she did so. He’d fallen asleep in her lap about an hour earlier and continued to purr lightly whenever she scratched him again.

“Yeah, for the moment. I think I’ve got style and color nailed down and I’ll be able to get it to the fitting stage from here since I have your measurements already.”

“Awesome. Any ideas on accessories yet?”

“Um, some kind of jangly bracelets. Go as big as you want, it’ll be sleeveless. But focus on gold and bronze tones.” Marinette cocked her head to the side while visualizing the effect.

“Yeah, I’ve got some of that already, easy enough. Shoes?” Alya gently nudged Chat and he wriggled back into place, pushing on her hand.

“I was thinking nude heels.”

“Your nude or my nude?”

“ _Your nude_ , you walnut. For your own feet.” Alya laughed and shoved Mari’s pencil across the table, making it roll toward the edge. Marinette caught it and glared at Alya while her friend stretched and jiggled her legs to move Chat around. He shot awake and abruptly hopped down to run from the room.

“Bye Chat! Bye girl. Glad I could come help today.” Alya reached out to crush Mari into a hug and Marinette returned it enthusiastically.

“Me too. I think it’s really coming together. Thanks again Alya. And good luck on your date!”

“Thanks, fingers crossed.” She grimaced and Marinette laughed at her dramatics before seeing her friend to the door.

“Alright Kitten. Cooking shows while I work?”

Chat’s excited yowl and alert posture atop his cushion were all the answer she needed.


	5. Evaluations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Design evaluation day has arrived! Chat and Marinette are both nervous, but they handle their nerves in VERY different ways.

Marinette hardly slept the night before the meeting date, desperately struggling to put the finishing touches on her custom premiere designs. Each one was perfectly suited to her friends’ personalities and the nervousness of wondering how they’d respond had started to wear on her. Each outfit was a vastly different design, showcasing her ability to design to the body rather than fit a body to a design. She was confident in the designs, but...she’d never quite squash that nervous energy that came along with someone seeing their custom design for the first time.

Chat had clearly picked up her anxiousness, his tail whipping back and forth frantically in the rare moments he sat still. He jumped at each sound, checking the door constantly for new arrivals. Marinette felt guilty for infecting him with her agitation, but it was pretty endearing how attuned he was to her after only two weeks.

She flitted around the apartment hanging dresses and outfits on the collapsible display rack and mulling over which outfits to give a place of honor on the two dress forms available. “So the four outfits for us need to be altered, those can be on hangers for now so they can try them on, the ruched tunic is probably okay on the hanger, oh! This one maybe? And...” She stopped muttering for a moment as another wave of jealousy washed over her upon reaching the lilac dress Lila designed. She sighed in resignation. “Yeah. I guess that one deserves a dress form.”

She puttered around for a moment or two more before ultimately deciding to leave a form empty so she could slip each outfit on for the individual evaluations. She glanced around, trying to locate Chat before even attempting to open the dress she’d now dubbed “Lila-c”. Not seeing him in the living room, she quietly wandered down the hall and peeked her head into the bedroom. Chat was on the bed, walking in circles and agitatedly pawing at the bed covers. He looked up quickly when she entered the room, averting his eyes a second later. Marinette frowned slightly, confused by the guilty behavior. It only took a moment to pinpoint the why.

“Chat? Where is my pillow?” His tail flicked and he emitted a mournful little groan, laying his head on crouched paws. He met her eyes and groaned again, but didn’t move from his place on the bed.

“Chat. Show me where my pillow is. Ugh, why am I- You’re not a kid.” She began to walk around their bed and stopped as she saw an obscene amount of fluff littering the floor. Chat hopped from the bed and sat in the center. He didn’t look remorseful exactly, but he definitely wasn’t meeting her eyes. Marinette’s mouth dropped. The smallest pieces of pillow-fluff possible were _everywhere,_ as if the pillow had been exploded violently. The pillowcase had obvious claw marks, but the tiny bits smashed into her carpet...

Marinette rubbed her eyes. “Okay Chat. I’m not mad. I’ll...figure this out later. I really don’t have time for it right now. I’m gonna close the door now, please don’t destroy anything else.” He made a pitiful, tiny mew as she closed the door, but she also didn’t have time for guilt. Rapidly getting the remaining outfits appropriately presented, she set coffee out and sketched useless stress doodles while waiting for the others to show up.

Alya was, as usual, first to show up. She greeted Marinette with a hug and glanced around at the designs before squealing excitedly. “Girl, these are _amazing!_ Well, some of them.” She grimaced at the red monstrosity that had agitated Chat and wrinkled her nose.

“Lila, I’ll assume.” Marinette nodded and shrugged.

“They can’t all be winners. She did design the showstopper over there though, the lilac one in the middle.”

“You’re joking.” Alya stared incredulously as Mari shook her head slowly.

“Dang. That’s a heck of a difference. This one is _breathtaking._ i” She rubbed the fabric between two fingers, admiring the quality. “I guess she does deserve to submit a piece or two.”

Alya wandered over to the kitchen and selected a cup of coffee for herself. “You’re the best, always providing caffeine for me.”

“I _do_ live on it.”

“Don’t we all, girl.” The two snickered for a moment and Alya looked around the room.

“Where’s Chat? I mean, I know I didn’t mention,” she dropped her voice to a low whisper, “ _cheese,_ but I figured I’d see him by now.”

“He’s locked in my room.”

“Whyyyy? What did he do?” Alya leaned in conspiratorially and her grin stretched wide across her face.   
“Well, he was really upset because I was nervous about today-“

“Uh huh.”

“And the other day he reacted _really_ badly to the lilac dress-“

“Right.”

“So while he was in the bedroom earlier he...kinda...exploded my pillow.” Alya fell of the chair, cackling and guffawing. Marinette wondered how she could still breathe. She moved her laughing friend’s coffee further from danger and righted the chair Alya had knocked over, but left the other woman rolling on the floor. Alya continued to laugh until she was crying slightly and crawled back into her seat to calm down.

“Done enjoying my misery, _former best friend?_ ” she snarked at Alya.

“Pff, if that’s all it took to renounce someone, we’d have ditched Chloé years ago.” Both girls turned as a knock announced the arrival of the next guest.

“Speak of the devil, here’s Chloé now!” Alya crowed, throwing a wink in Chloé’s direction.

“Yeah, I know you talk bad about me when I’m not here, it’s not a secret.” Chloé sniped back, making a beeline for the coffee.

“Totally do. Constantly.”

“Mm hmm, it’s obvious. What were all the hysterics about as I arrived?” She sipped a cup gingerly, taking a bigger drink as she determined the heat level was to her liking.

“Oh, Marinette’s cat obliterated her pillow today,” Alya cheerily replied.

“Lord, I hope you found some locations she can work out of, because if he goes after designs-“ Alya cut her off abruptly before she could finish the thought.

“Yeah, I did my part. I’ve got this, Bourgeois. Besides, Mari says he only did it because he got nervous when _she_ got nervous.”

“Mari is literally the most high strung person I know.”

“I’m right here,” Mari interjected, sticking her lip out and hunching her shoulders.

“You’re still high strung,” Chloé doubled down, looking Mari directly in the eyes, “We can’t afford anything going wrong now, okay? Just...keep him away from the designs for me? And my peace of mind?”

Marinette nodded, “I have been, don’t worry so much, Chloé. I’m not being flippant here. He’s a good cat, most of the time. He just got really stressed. And it was only a pillow.”

Chloé nodded back and turned her attention to her coffee, attacking it with the gusto of a woman who sleeps as little as possible.

“Oh, yeah, so if it’ll make you feel better, let me tell you what Trixx has destroyed since I got her. She busted a plate the first day home, like, just shoved it off the counter. No remorse whatsoever. Did it again with a cup on my bedside stand, but thank goodness for carpets, I just woke up to wet flooring. Not pleasant but way better than the alternative.” Alya waved a hand dismissively.

“She absolutely _shredded_ my curtains, and knocked this ugly vase off the counter that I got from that last guy I went on a date with. It was hideous, I’m so glad it’s broken.” Marinette and Chloé listened to Alya speak, mouths dropping toward the floor.

“Holy crap. Your cat is so bored she’d scream if she were human, Als.” Chloé ran a hand into her hair and closed her eyes.

“Yeah, that’s what the shelter guy said. I got her some stuff to help out and she didn’t break anything yesterday, so fingers crossed.”

“You two are ridiculous. Why would you want an animal breaking stuff in your home?” Chloé sighed back in response.

“Well, they’re fluffy for one. They-“ Marinette, Chloé, and Alya jumped in panic as the door slammed open against the wall, allowing Lila entry.

“Can we get this done quickly, I have somewhere I need to be for work,” she announced as she strode into the room.

“Probably a party,” Alya muttered.

  
Marinette gave her what she hoped was a stern warning glare and turned to Lila. “Welcome to my home Lila, shoes off and no gum while there are designs out, please.” She pointed at the trash can, prompting Lila to roll her eyes and spit her gum into the trash. Marinette took a breath and launched into her introduction.

“I’m ready whenever you all are, feel free to shout out thoughts when I put each design on the dress form. We’ll do it one at a time so all my notes get attached to the right design. Anything is fair game, from stitches out of place to things you do or don’t like in the design itself. But please keep in mind, it’s not about what _you_ like, it’s about whether it works for the design as a whole. We’re making a variety of clothing and not catering to ourselves on each design.” She grabbed her sketchbook and flipped to the first design. Pulling the outfit from the hanger, she slipped it onto the bare dress form. As suggestions were called out, she scribbled each note into the margins of her pages and they worked steadily through the designs as the hour wore on.

Each time the subpar designs Lila submitted came up for review, Lila raved about their intricate details while the others pointed out obvious flaws in the basic design. The third time this happened, she screeched in rage.

“Marinette should have fixed it, then! That’s a _seamstresses’_ job!” Her face was red under her heavy tan, eyes flashing, and teeth bared. Chloé had stepped up and the two were staring eye-to-eye. Seeing the ensuing catfight, Marinette jumped to defuse it.

“Seamstresses _follow the pattern,_ Lila. As a _designer,_ I could have fixed the issues, and I fixed _some_ of them! But I didn’t want to alter your designs too heavily.” She placed a palm on her forehead, feeling the chilled sheen of sweat that had broken out.

“Just the design notes, _please,_ everyone. _No. Personal. Commentary._ ” She watched Chloé and Lila continue to glare, but breathed in relief as both women backed away from each other, arms crossed and heads high.

An unnecessarily frustrating three hours later, they finally reached the last five: the premiere outfits and ‘Lila-c’.

“Alright, one more and then we try our outfits on. I’ll be getting tailoring information on those along with design notes. Everyone ready?” Marinette droned wearily, watching Chloé slam the rest of the coffee and Lila checking her phone. Heads nodded in assent and they moved to the last dress form.

“Wow,” Chloé breathed, “Now _that_ is gorgeous. Well done, Marinette.”

Lila huffed in a tone that could only be offense and shrilly staked her claim, “That is _my_ design, thank you very much! Learn to tell the difference between designers.” Chloé raised her hands in a sign of surrender, turning to the rack once more and ignoring the dress entirely.

“Can we try our outfits on and get this over with, please,” she begged, her eyes tired and annoyed.

“Sure,” Marinette quietly retrieved the premiere outfits, handing each one to its owner. “Let me know if anything feels wrong.”

She smiled at the obvious joy in Alya’s eyes as she tried her dress on, thrilled with the effect Marinette had achieved with the drape of the gown. Marinette swiftly gathered any fitting notes she needed on the piece and moved to attend to Chloé next after taking in Lila’s frown.

“Marinette, this is perfect, I can’t believe the way the honeycomb detailing makes the jacket look.” Marinette grinned widely at Chloé. She’d planned the asymmetrical zipper from the left shoulder to the v-shaped drop waist, the unconventional neckline showing off the collarbones, and the three-quarter sleeve effect, but the embroidered detailing on the mock darts from the underarm to the waist created an even leaner look to Chloé’s already slim torso. “You did an incredible job on this.”

“Thank you so-“

“This is nowhere _near_ as stunning as I need it to be.” Lila’s voice rang out and the other three women collectively suppressed a groan.

“What’s wrong with it, Lila?” Marinette drooped visibly, sure the bags under her eyes were suddenly visible under her concealer.

“Well, the skirt isn’t sheer enough.”

“Lila, any more sheer and people will see _everything_ you have underneath,” Mari argued.

“The color is wrong for my skin tone. I’m _olive._ ”

“It’s peach-“

“The neckline isn’t low enough.”

“It goes to the _waist!_ ” Marinette’s response finally crossed into a frustrated growl and she found she could no longer keep from baring her teeth at the woman in front of her.

“I want to wear mine,” she declared finally. “It’s better in basically _every way._ ” Marinette stared, stunned into silence at the rude demand. _Was that her goal the whole time? To wear the lilac thing?_

“That is so stupid,” Alya began.

“What the he-“

“ _You_ are so stupid,” she continued, interrupting Lila. “That thing is not gonna look right on you, its’ clearly for fair complexions-“

“You don’t even wear anything but jeans and T-shirts-“

“My best friend is a designer, just because I prefer jeans doesn’t mean I’m _stupid, unlike you-_ “

Marinette slammed a heavy book on the floor, causing everyone to jump and look around frantically. Her hands shook uncontrollably, making it hard to concentrate. Adrenaline rushed through her body and she breathed deeply to control the waver her voice might have if she didn’t focus properly. Her stomach appeared to have vanished, leaving her head abnormally light and floaty. Her lungs felt like they held an unnatural amount of air, almost like the opposite of the panic attacks she was prone to as a child. She glanced at each of the concerned looks her friends bore and breathed once more, formulating a plan. “Lila.”

Lila opened her mouth to speak.

“No, shut up. You’ll wear your dress. On a condition. You yield your vote on location. It’s the only thing we can’t decide on as a group so far. We vote, you don’t complain. You wear your dress. Take your time to decide if that’s worth it. In the meantime, can we please talk about your business plan so we can change the topic?”

“Fine. Yes.”

The women silently changed back into their own outfits and reclaimed their places at the counter. Marinette closed her eyes as she sat, still feeling the whiplash of the prior discussion despite the topic change. Lila dropped a thick folder onto the table after fishing it out of her bag and began to flip through it wordlessly. As she reached the page she was looking for, she began to explain each portion and how they related to each woman’s position. Most of the responses were simply nods and single-word answers to her questions, given the thoroughness of the packet. She hadn’t missed even a single aspect of the plan or paperwork that they needed to see this put into motion.

“Finally, we need a name,” Lila declared, closing the folder. “Once we have it, I’ll file all the appropriate bits, pay the fees, and we’re finalized so we can move forward with location. I’ll then file the address adjustments. Until then, all our official documentation will come to my apartment so I can deal with it quickly. Name ideas?”

“‘Lucky Bug Boutique’?” Chloé offered.

Lila groaned. “Chloé, please don’t. It’s such a bad idea to reference your mom’s store.”

“‘Apis’ is a perfectly reasonable shop name,” Chloé shot back defensively.

“I’m not saying it isn’t, I’m saying stay out of Audrey’s shadow.” Lila stared pointedly at Chloé, tilting her head forward minutely and clasping her hands together in front of her.

“Fine, you win,” Chloé grumbled and slumped in her chair.

“‘You’re So Foxy’?” Alya sat forward excitedly as she added her name for consideration.

“Little bit of a trendier feel to that one, Als.” Marinette pointed out, “We’re trying for high end here.”

“I suggest ‘French Lilac’,” Lila supplied.

Chloé sighed. “While I resent that it’s basically your _name,_ it does have a fancier feel to it. Mari, please tell me you’ve got one too?”

“Uh, yeah, maybe. I thought ‘The Spotted Lady’ might be nice? See, because I use a lot of polka dots and anyone shopping with us will be ‘spotted’-“

“We get it, yes. Don’t need to explain your weird pun thing again. Vote?”

“Yeah, vote.”

Lila delicately lifted a hand. “French Lilac?” Her hand remained the only one raised and she huffed lightly. Scribbling Marinette’s suggestion down, she looked up again. “Fine. I wasn’t that attached to mine anyway. So, what? Is it Chloé’s turn now?” Marinette nodded and turned her attention to Chloé.

“Well, I asked my uncle to help out with the funding, so pretty much whatever location we want, he’s good for.”

“Holy crap, seriously?” Alya stared at Chloé, mouth gaping and eyes wide. “What did you have to promise to get bottomless funding?”

Chloé fidgeted and scrunched her nose up. When she finally spoke her words came out as rapidly as possible.

“He gets to come to the grand opening and if he hates everything he reclaims the location and kicks us out.” Her shoulders hunched as if she were bracing for impact.

“Chloé!” Alya swore heatedly, eyes flashing at the blonde.

“Oh, come on, he’s _not_ gonna hate it, this stuff is great!”

“Not the point!”

“No, the point is, she secured funding,” Lila interjected, looking mildly impressed. Marinette nodded.

“Effectively _unlimited_ funding. That’s an offer we absolutely shouldn’t argue with. If our stuff doesn’t sell we’re looking at closing down _anyway,_ so what’s the difference if it happens because of this guy or lack of customers? At the grand open or weeks later?” Alya growled and folded her arms, but didn’t respond to Marinette’s point or look directly at any of the others.

“So, all in favor?” Lila drawled. Four hands raised and Lila scribbled a couple lines before moving on. “Anyone else you’ve found, Chloé?”

Chloé stretched her arms and neck before responding. “Yeah, my ex is willing to put out a few networking feelers in the music scene for us. Nothing financial, but he knows some fancy people these days and the word of mouth might be good. Plus he said the band is up for costumes soon and he might ask for something custom at that point.”

“Which ex is this?”

“The musician obviously.”

“There were two of those.”

“The blue haired one,” Chloé huffed.

Lila snorted. “‘The blue haired one’. Like he’s not the one that broke your heart.”

“He did not _break my heart!_ ” Chloé shot up in her chair and spat.

“He absolutely did. Guitar boy is on my list.”

“He’s on our collective lists,” Alya added, nodding.

“He’s not on mine.” Mari pointed out.

“Yeah, you’re too nice to have a list,” Lila spun her pen for a moment. “Though he can network for us if he wants. I’ll get some business cards once we have the paperwork filed and a location settled.”

“Sounds good to me,” Chloé nodded.

“Anything else before I go?” Lila asked while packing her things into her bag.

“We didn’t discuss locations, Lila.” Mari’s brow furrowed and she pursed her lips.

“Yeah, I’m wearing that lilac number, you don’t need me for that part. I’ll argue less if you just tell me the verdict.” She chirped as she hoisted her bag over her shoulder and headed for the door. “I’d like to suggest _Triangle D’Or_ however. Fancy area, big name, unlimited funds. Can’t go wrong. Text me the location once you nail it down.”

“No problem, Lila, I’ll handle it.” Alya waved two fingers at Lila as she shut the door, barely slamming it.

“Wow. That was so much less unpleasant than usual,” Marinette breathed.

“You’re telling me, she was practically nice toward the end there.”

“There is _no way_ I’m putting up shop in _Triangle D’Or_ though.”

“Oh, agreed. Literally anywhere else.”


	6. Frustrations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette works on repairing her relationship with Lila through retail therapy and happy hour. Marinette says something that offends Chat during snuggle time.

“Alright, Lila. Wanna tell me why you’re being so difficult lately?” Marinette raised one eyebrow at the woman perched in the seat next to her.

“God I hate public transport.” Lila looked around frantically, fully looking as if she expected someone to jump out and throw a drink at her. _To be fair, that **has** happened on a bus before._

“Yup, but you wanted to go shopping and do happy hour, so the bus is our best option here. So. Why are you giving us all so much crap lately?” Lila’s shoulders dropped, and the haughty attitude with them.

“Mari, the three of you are so talented. You’re all going places and I’m... I’m just getting left behind lately. I mean, I did what? _Business management?_ I write papers and file them and work with stupid red tape all day?” Her arms flew up in the air and Marinette leaned away slightly to get out of range. “Once you’re established, you’re not going to need that anymore. I’m gonna end up bouncing from startup to startup and never end up wanted or needed by anyone. Everyone is going to eventually leave me behind and it _hurts_ to realize that. It’s easier to just not care before you all ditch me.” She sighed heavily and wrapped her arms around herself protectively. Marinette’s heart clenched and she reached for Lila, placing a hand gently on her shoulder.

“Lila, we don’t care if you’re _useful._ You’re our _friend._ We care about you for you.”

Lila muttered something so low Marinette didn’t catch it. “What?”

Lila raised her voice, barely audible. “I was the _last_ friend to join you guys. I only sort of fit in. And Alya never really liked me much. I got in because you were nice to me and didn’t want me to be alone when I arrived in the middle of the year. I’m pretty sure you guys all talk about me when I leave.” Her lip jutted out, a slight quiver in her voice. Marinette flinched. _Guilty._

“Okay, yes, you were the last one in the group. But please don’t hold that up as a reason why we couldn’t like you just as much.” She scooted as close on her seat as she could, speaking low so the other passengers didn’t overhear too much. “That was luck of the draw. Besides, Alya and I _hated_ Chloé for at _least_ a year in _école_ because she was horrible to us.”

“Like me right now?” Lila whispered.

Mari hesitated. “Not...horrible. But you’ve been pretty snappy and distant the last couple of months. You could put some effort into being more positive and involved. If you do, I’m absolutely _certain_ your relationship with all of us will improve.” She leaned in and wrapped her arms around Lila in an awkward hug. “I miss when you were happier around us.”

“Me too.” Lila sniffled and wiped at the corners of her eyes, smiling wetly at Marinette. “I missed spending time around you, just us.”

“I did too, it’s been way too long.” She leaned back against her seat, beaming at Lila. Lila grinned back.

“So. After all that emotion, I need retail therapy. Where are we going?”

—

A drawn out cry alerted her that Chat had missed her over the course of the last couple of hours. Marinette smiled down at her feet when she opened the door. Chat aggressively leaned into her calves as if to push her through the doorway a little faster. She giggled and complied, taking a moment to scratch his head lightly with her fingertips.

“Sorry I was gone so long, Kitty. I needed to work on repairing a relationship a little bit. Lila is...well, she’s coming around.” Marinette set her shopping on the couch, swearing she’d deal with it in _just a moment_ before trotting into the kitchen for a glass of water. Chat followed faithfully behind and she took a moment to refill his water as well. She set his bowl down and sipped from her glass.

“I really hope she comes around, she seems so worried we’re all going to ditch her and it seems like that’s probably why she’s been so rude lately.” Chat made a small noise and she decided to act like it was disbelief. “I _know,_ she’s been really unpleasant. You wouldn’t have wanted to leave the bedroom even if you could have the other day. Trust me on that one. But I promise she didn’t always act like that. She used to be so nice! She helped me with a bunch of girls spreading rumors about me back in _collège_ once. She’s just worried.”

Marinette set her glass in the sink and grabbed her sketchbook before settling into the chair she liked for drawing. Chat wedged himself between her left arm and the side of the chair before snuggling her hand affectionately. She scratched his head absently while flipping through the book. Stopping at Lila’s intended premiere dress, she sighed and began to write notes into the margins.

“It’s such a shame she won’t wear the dress. I’m still going to use it as a display, but it’s so specific to her body type I’m afraid no one else will do it justice quite the way she would have.” She lingered, staring at the design longingly. After a moment, Chat meowed and pawed at the pages gently. A chuckle forced its way out of Marinette’s throat.

“Alright, I’ll move on. Wanna see more?” Chat responded eagerly and she gingerly opened the book to her own dress. A Chinese-inspired tea length halter dress, in red and black, swirled across the page. Playful but elegant, and with tiny black spots all over the red bodice and skirt as a not-so-subtle nod to her chosen boutique name. It suited both her body and her heritage as only a custom dress could. She’d squealed in joy when she found the perfect shiny red half-sphere buttons for the high-waisted apron closure. Chat meowed in approval and she grinned at him.

“Why, thank you for the support, Kitty! I rather like this design. It won’t be _stunning_ necessarily, but it certainly shows a different style than the other things I’ve made. There’s hopefully enough of a market for my body type that I can keep designing in this direction.” Her voice dropped to a conspiratorial whisper, “That way I can keep making stuff I like to wear and call it working.”

Chat meowed and Mari winked before an amused chuckle broke loose from her chest. “Probably gonna have more demand for Chloé’s power suit though, she looks amazing in it. She’ll definitely draw a lot of attention at the premiere.”

Marinette flipped to a new page, quickly sketching a rough body shape on the blank sheet. “I guess I should start on some of those men’s fashions too, huh Kitty?” Chat’s ears perked up and he leaned his head over the book, meowing quietly. She smiled.

“Yeah? You want a suit, pretty kitty? Does my handsome boy want to match or contrast me?” Marinette giggled as she outlined a typical men’s suit silhouette, adding little kitty-inspired details as she went. A little extra point to the pocket square to make it seem like cat ears poking out. Slightly more length in the tail of the coat to add a little flutter to them. A bit of green here and there for his eyes, subtle rather than blinding like the neon of his coloring. A bronze sheen to the buttons on the collar to mimic the bell collar he wore. Finishing the design details, Marinette turned the book a bit for Chat, presenting it for his approval.

“Well Kitty? What do you think? Is it just _so you?_ ” She teased lightly, grinning at him. His mouth opened, but no noise escaped for a moment or two before a long whine began to emit. Marinette began to giggle, progressing quickly into snorting at his response.

“Oh my god, Kitty, the look on your face, like you were actually surprised and-“ She broke off, gasping for air. She sucked lungfuls of air in, desperately trying to breathe normally again. “Whew.”

She glanced down, hearing an annoyed mew near her elbow, and frowned at the flattened ears and hunched posture of the cat next to her on the chair.

“Oh, kitten, I’m so sorry.” She set her book aside carefully and bundled Chat into her lap. “I wasn’t making fun. I just...I know you can’t actually be surprised, you know? You’re not a person or anything and you’re so smart that I forget that sometimes, so it was kind of funny that you actually _looked_ surprised, and-“

Marinette found herself with surprise of her own when Chat yowled angrily, jumping from her lap and stalking from the room with harsh flicks of his tail. She scrambled up, following Chat to the bedroom, but halted when he wriggled under the bed and refused to come back out for any treat or promise of scratches. Marinette sat back on her heels, confused and upset.

“What did I say, Chat?”

 


	7. Peace Offerings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alya and Marinette discuss potential shop locations, Mari bakes a surprise for Chat, and Chat finally stops being upset with Marinette.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A special thank you to CaughtFeelings on this one for helping me to know how much of Paris to flesh out on this chapter. You’re the best!

Chat still didn’t come out by dinnertime and despite only living with him for a short time, Marinette felt the lack of company acutely. She’d become accustomed to taking meals together and speaking to Chat about her work. Even if he couldn’t respond with words, he’d given feedback and shown interest. She paused halfway through washing a pan from cooking her dinner with a realization. _He does respond, doesn’t he. Just not in words I understand. And I- Oh, I’ve been treating him like a person._

Setting the clean dishes aside, she dried her hands and tossed the towel haphazardly on the counter. Marinette braced her palms to the sides of the small sink, leaning on them heavily. A puff of air escaped her, more forcefully than she’d intended. Marinette gathered her sketchbook and settled into her chair. She wiggled uncomfortably, hating the feel of the cold fabric against her skin. She growled briefly, realizing that Chat warmed it for her most days. _God, I’m having **cat** withdrawals, what is wrong with me?_ She placed her pencil to the page, but nothing useful flowed from her mind. She began to doodle mindlessly, trying to clear her head. She huffed when she realized she was drawing a suspiciously familiar face with acid green eyes and surrounded by fluffy black fur.

She roughly shoved the book aside and stomped into the kitchen for a cup of tea. Sipping the lavender-infused drink, she sank back into her chair for a moment before startling upright. A small amount of tea sloshed out of the cup and onto her lap. Cursing, she wiped at the scalding spots on her pants while she processed the thought that had occurred to her.

_Was he mad because I suddenly treated him like a cat?_

———

The next few days flew by quickly, considering the persistent sulking Marinette had been doing. When Chat failed to acknowledge her the morning after their “fight”, she’d assumed his attitude could only last a day or so more. But three days later he continued to give her the cold shoulder whenever she entered a room.

She missed him.

He ate when she left, slept while she worked (in his cat tree even), and stayed up all night walking the house while Marinette slept. While she’d never really been the center of attention, being ignored entirely was a new and unpleasant experience. It wasn’t until day four of living with Ice-Chat that she remembered the shopping bags from her outing with Lila.

Marinette tore into the bags only slightly more violently than necessary, leaving Chat’s items on the couch and plodding into the kitchen with her pearl sugar. She set about gathering the materials for a batch of chouquettes. As she beat the eggs in preparation, Marinette hummed the tune her mother always did while baking the little puffs. When she was little, she’d thought the song was a necessary part of the recipe. Now she was just pretty sure it helped them taste better.

A shrill beeping noise from her phone drew Marinette’s attention from her mise en place and she glanced at the device curiously.

**Als: Hey, I have locations narrowed down. Call me?**

Slipping her earbuds in, Mari clicked the call button. She heated her butter in a pan, waiting for it to melt before pouring her other liquids in. When Alya answered her phone, Mari cringed at the volume of her friends’ voice before lowering the headset volume.

“Hey! I have a couple of good locations and I want your opinion on them. Got a minute?”

“Sure, I’m just stress baking,” Mari responded easily.

“Oh, that’s good timing, I’m stress eating. Send me some,” came the cheery reply. Mari grinned and poured sugar and milk into her pan.

Marinette’s voice dropped into a teasing tone, “I dunno, Als, I might need them. What if I’m still stressed after baking and eat them all?” A scoffing noise filtered over her phone and Marinette giggled. “So what locations are we looking at?”

“Well, I got them down to five, so I’ll start with general location and what’s there. Then you can veto stuff for me.”

“Okay, sounds fair. Hit me.” She dumped the entire bowl of flour in at once and started stirring rapidly with a long wooden spoon.

“Okay, _Les Halles._ It’s small, trendy, kind of a punk rock vibe in the market area right now.” Mari shook her head before replying to the suggestion.

“Pass, not quite the image we’re going for right now. Maybe when we open “You’re So Foxy”.” Marinette scrunched her nose as she playfully needled her friend and smiled as Alya chuckled lightly.

“You’re sure, Mari? It’s got a lot of foodies right now and that market has a lot of disposable income. They’re definitely the right age range for what Lila laid out the other day.”

“Yes, but it’s a food market, first and foremost. If we _were_ going for the punk rock vibe it would be a different story and we’d fit right in. But we want fancy and high end. Wearable, but only a portion of what we have will be considered daily wear. We want to try and compete with the big names in Paris, eventually. And the first boutique makes an impact whether it fails or succeeds. People grocery shopping for dinner aren’t going to pop in for an evening gown, realistically.” Mari spoke clearly, but firmly as she laid out her reasoning. Alya listened intently, humming lightly at each point of import.

“Alright, no problem. _Rue de Commerce,_ it’s got a lot of-“

“Bakeries. Cafes. Maman and Papa looked over there for a second location once, it’s good walking traffic but probably not ideal for us. People are gonna walk through the food shops and pick stuff up and eat sandwiches covered in butter and then _touch_ all of our stuff. And it’s a great tourist attraction, most of those tourists somehow forget they have manners when they end up abroad.” Alya hummed knowingly and audibly marked something down. Mari stopped beating the chouquette dough for a moment, checking the consistency.

“Not smooth enough,” she muttered, returning the spoon to the pan so she could vigorously whip the mixture once more.

“What?”

“Nothing, Als, the chouquettes.”

“Aw man, I love chouquettes. Okay, so next is _Avenue des Ternes_ in the 17ème arrondisement. Low competition, kind of trendy, close to _Place Charles de Gaulle,_ so tourists aplenty. And there aren’t as many food shops, so they’re not gonna touch all your stuff with _greasy hands._ ” Marinette rolled her eyes, practically hearing the smirk on Alya’s face. “Also pretty close to a couple of the higher education schools and museums. That expensive music conservatory is over that way too, I think.”

“Yeah, that one’s a possibility,” Mari tilted her head and eyeballed the mixture once more before setting it aside to cool for a moment or two. She flipped the oven on and turned her attention back to Alya. “I’d say keep it on the list for now. It’s not a _high_ dollar area for clothing, but it’s no slouch either.”

“Awesome, I’ll ask Chloé after this too, see if I can keep narrowing it down. Next we have _Boulevard Saint Germain_ in the 7ème. These ones are...pretty high end shops. They might be nice?”

“You’re joking.”

Alya hesitated. “Not really?”

“That would be as bad as _Triangle D’Or._ Louis Vuitton is out there. Karl Lagerfeld is out there. Hell, even _Ralph Lauren_ has a location out in _Saint Germain._ No chance, Alya. Take it off the list.” Alya sighed on the other end of the line as Marinette’s volume got increasingly louder with each designer store she named.

“You said you wanted to compete with the big names, girl. Doesn’t get much bigger than those, unless you really wanna go _tête-a-tête_ with Chanel.”

“Alya, I want to _compete_ eventually, not get crushed by them right out of the gate!” Marinette picked up and set down the beaten bowl of eggs and walked agitatedly around the room. “I’m terrified as it is being in the shadow of both Audrey and Gabriel because of Chloé’s family, I don’t need the added stress of thinking all these other designers are watching me too!”

“Fine, it’s off, don’t have a panic attack at me here. Last one then. _Les Marais,_ it’s in the 3ème and 4ème.”

“Karl Lagerfeld is over there too.”

“They specialize in men’s clothes Mari! You might design for everyone, but that’s not valid competition!” Alya snapped irritatedly and Marinette cringed a bit.

“Fine, okay. What street is the location on?” She picked up her bowl of eggs and scowled down at the beaten yolks.

“ _Rue de Bretagne._ Close to _Le Marche des Enfants Rouge,_ so tourist traffic is bound to be good that close to the outdoor market area. I know there’s a lot of food there, but it’s such a foodie destination. And since the market has been there for so long, it doesn’t have the same reputation as _Les Halles_ does. There’s a _lot_ of young professionals that frequent the area.” Alya noted.

“Alright, you’ve got a point. It would also put us close to _Chez Taeko,_ and you know how much I love that place.” She sighed longingly and added roughly one egg to the dough, stirring quickly to incorporate it.

“ _Chez Taeko,_ that’s the Japanese place on _Bretagne,_ right? Their tofu bento is _amazing._ ”

“It really is, the sardine one is really good too.” Marinette added another egg gingerly.

“Oh, I’ll have to try that next time. Fresh sardines?”

“Yeah, they’re great. Open flame grilled.”

“Augh, that sounds so good.” Alya moaned. “Okay, so those two locations? Just those?”

“Just the two, _Avenue des Ternes_ and _Les Marais._ ”

“Great, I’ll speak to Chloé then. Talk to you soon girl, bring me some of those chouquettes!” Alya trailed off as Mari pulled the earbuds from her ears and finished mixing her eggs into the dough. She dropped blobs onto sheet tray and sprinkled them generously with with the pearl sugar before gingerly sliding them into the oven to bake. She wandered into the living room to look for the remote, intending to watch something non-sensical on TV. She couldn’t concentrate on designs right now anyway.

“Mrr.” A timid, high pitched meow caused Marinette to jump, startling her from her search by Chat’s abrupt arrival.

“Oh! Hi, Kitty.” She stood awkwardly and watched him pad over to their chair before planting himself on the back of it. She approached him but refrained from touching. Chat stared, unblinking, at Marinette before both tilted their heads slightly to the side. He sat serenely for a moment before the silence got the better of Mari and she couldn’t suppress the urge to apologize.

“Chat, I don’t know exactly what I did to upset you, but I’m sorry.” His head shifted back, as if surprised, and Marinette held her hand out for him to sniff. She still didn’t attempt to pet him, letting him make the next move if he chose to. He eagerly placed his paws on her abdomen and stretched. His claws poked through the soft, loosely knit fabric of the shirt she wore around the house. Marinette moved forward carefully to give him time to retreat if he wanted to. Chat simply stretched taller as she did, eventually picking his claws into her sleeves in a clear sign of affection toward her.

“Are you asking me to pick you up, Kitty?” Chat responded by meowing plaintively and Mari’s small smile broadened across her face. She bundled Chat into her arms and lifted him. As he reached face height, he darted forward and nuzzled against Marinette’s chin. Marinette resisted the sudden, fierce urge to squish Chat against her chest harder than he would have liked and her throat closed up with the sudden affectionate gestures. Instead of squeezing him, she nuzzled the top of his head in kind, humming a bit as she did.

“Thanks for forgiving me, Kitty. I really missed you.” Chat’s mouth opened to meow back, but the sound was interrupted by the buzzing timer in the kitchen.

“Oh, the chouquettes!”

Chat’s ears perked up and he leapt from Marinette’s arms, racing her into the kitchen. Much lighter than a few minutes ago, Marinette practically floated into the room behind him. She slipped oven mitts onto her hands (a gift from her father after one too many finger burning incidents).

“Stay back, Kitten, I don’t wanna burn you.” Chat obeyed instantly, scaling the countertop and perching there like a giant bird eyeing prey.

The chouquettes were golden and shiny, and she avoided any unnecessary jostling so they wouldn’t be at any risk of collapsing. Settling them to cool, Mari clicked the oven off and turned back to Chat. He sat immobile, eyes locked on the cooling treats. Marinette chuckled.

“Yeah, Kitten, those are for you. If you like them. Kind of a peace offering, as it were.” Chat jumped to his feet excitedly and Marinette poked a finger to his nose to halt his leap to the next counter over.

“Uh uh, kitty cat, gotta wait for them to cool off. Don’t want you burning yourself. And these are a _treat,_ so only one a day.” Chat meowed agreeably and sat back down to wait, a stark difference from his cheese-stealing attempts.

Marinette reached toward Chat’s ears, hesitating briefly before Chat pressed his head into her palm. Mari allowed herself to relax. She scratched behind his ears, humming lightly as she did. Chat purred in kind, stretching further into her reach. She giggled.

“Needy kitty. I bet the past few days have been pretty rough on you too, missing out on all the petting and scratches you usually get.”

“Mrrrrow,” he crooned, elongating his body further off the counter. Marinette reached back to pluck a chouquette from the tray and deemed it cool enough to eat before holding it out to her cat.

“Treat, Kitty?” she asked sweetly.

And promptly dropped it when he over-enthusiastically stepped off the edge of the counter.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Do you want chouquettes now? Of course you do, here’s a link. (The process in the chapter is accurate, but you shouldn’t have trouble if you follow this recipe, since this baker is pretty great.)
> 
> https://www.monpetitfour.com/chouquettes/


	8. Outside

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat and Marinette make a trip outside together, and Chat meets Luka.

Chat purred happily in the green-accented cat sling wrapped around Marinette’s front. He craned his head into each patch of sunlight that brushed his fur as they walked into it and hadn’t stopped kneading gently on Mari’s arm since they got about a block from their apartment. Despite the claws pressing in and out of her forearm, Marinette kept her left arm curled around Chat’s body, supporting him inside his sling and helping with his persistent anxiety.

When she’d pulled the gift for Chat from the shopping bag she’d left it in, he’d been nervous and agitated, dancing backwards away from the unassuming fabric. The idea of going _out_ seemed to scare him a bit, but eventually he’d warmed to the thought after short excursions into the hallway. He’d even initiated today’s outing, scratching at the door and rubbing his lithe form against Marinette’s legs until she eventually relented.

She was actually glad for the forced break. It was bright and warm out without being sweltering, and she found her head clearer than it had been in days. She’d spent the past few hours doing cost analysis on each outfit and fabric choice and thread in her entire inventory, quickly deciding it was her least favorite part of designing. It had been such a minimal part of her curriculum, only requiring a couple of classes before she’d been free of the burden. And back then it had been a fun little exercise, not an ordeal of sorting and pricing. Her attention drifted back in front of her as Chat excitedly pawed at a passing butterfly and yowled happily, causing her to giggle along. As the bug flitted away, Chat watched with wide eyes and a stark lack of strain in his small body as he pressed against Marinette slightly to watch the insect fly away.

She reluctantly pulled her attention away from the fuzzy body a layer of fabric away and lazily searched her surroundings for anything that she might want to use as inspiration later on. _Just because I’m taking a break doesn’t mean I can’t gather ideas. That doesn’t make me a workaholic right?_ She shook her head free of her thoughts and located a nearby park bench to settle onto. She gingerly pressed into the support, careful not to disrupt Chat while she did so. He made a low rumbling noise and snuggled himself closer to her as she pulled her sketchbook from the bag on her hip. Marinette pet him through the fabric, struggling a little to find his back before choosing to wiggle her arm out of the sling so she could pet Chat’s fur directly. He emitted little purrs for a while before drifting into the long rumbles that he only let out while sleeping. Marinette continued to pet him while he dozed in the warm sun and light breeze.

She began to sketch anything nearby that jumped out and grabbed her attention. Bugs, trees, tiny texture swatches that seemed interesting she simply documented without thought or judgement. She planned to sort through all the visual information back in her home later, but at the moment she focused on placing the details on the page. It was quickly becoming a miniature record of her time outside and she enjoyed seeing it develop for what it was, the value in it even if it never gained form as a blouse or skirt. She noted the changes to shadows as the hour wore on, but paid little attention outside of noting how it changed the color and drape of the leaf canopy against the bark and grass nearby. So she was understandably startled by a voice belonging to the shadow that marched confidently across her page.

“Marinette?”

A panicked set of claws dug deeply into her skin as the unholy screech left Marinette’s lips. She belatedly realized she knew the owner of the voice, but by that time the pencil she’d thrown was already well on it’s way to hitting Luka square in the face. He grabbed at the tool in shock, missing and allowing it to fall into the grass at his feet.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry!” Mari dropped her book onto the bench and made to leap up and assess how much damage she’d done to his face. She stopped when she realized her sling strap was off her shoulder and stopped the motion entirely. Marinette then cringed, mortified, as she caught sight of a small smear of blood on Luka’s cheek.

“It’s alright, no real harm done, Marinette,” he chuckled softly, an amused, lopsided grin adorning his mouth. He brushed the blood from his cheek before bending to retrieve the fallen pencil and offering it back to her. Marinette accepted it, grimacing as she did.

“Still, I’m so sorry. I must have gotten so invested in sketching that I didn’t even notice you coming over.” She tucked the book and pencil into her bag, readjusting Chat’s sling as she did. He responded with a small agitated mewl, clearly upset by his disturbed nap and trying to hide rather than escape. His warm fur was noticeable even through the fabric and Marinette rested her palm on the side of his body when she felt the tension in his limbs. She stood slowly, allowing Chat’s weight to rest on her left arm.

“What is _that,_ is there an animal in there?” Luka peered curiously at the sling, eyebrows drawn together and confusion obvious in his widened eyes.

“Oh! Yes, actually, my cat. Chat, do you want to meet Luka?” A long meow preceded the fluffy black head poking out from the sling and Luka smiled widely at Chat’s appearance. His fur was smashed against his head, whiskers askew and ears flattened backwards. Mari scratched lightly at his fur, trying to settle it back into place. Instead of his usual purr, Chat endured the touch while staring directly into Luka’s eyes. He shook his body slightly when the fur was back in place, but showed no other signs of acknowledging her touch otherwise.

“Hey buddy! How cute is that, I didn’t even know they made these things for cats. Might have to look into one for Juleka.” Luka reached a hand out toward Chat and waited patiently for a response.

“Chat, this is Luka, the brother of an old friend. Luka, this is Chat Noir. He’s been with me for a few weeks now, but this is one of our first outings, well, _outside._ He might be a little nervous.” Chat sniffed at Luka’s hand before snorting disdainfully and retreating into the fabric sanctuary. The hunch of his shoulders was obvious as he tried vainly to settle back into a comfortable position while still on high alert. Luka shrugged at the lack of response and dropped his hand to his side.

“Can’t really blame him, with as dramatic as that hello was.” He turned a grin to Marinette, teasing gently. He followed the light barb with a wink and Marinette blushed as she rushed to defend her reaction.

“You-! You startled me!” Luka began to laugh loudly at her reaction, holding his sides tightly as his laughs gradually dropped down to mere chuckles. Marinette ran a hand into her hair, scratching lightly at scalp while she smiled ruefully at her own embarrassing reaction from earlier.

“Ah, thanks for the laugh, Marinette, I needed that. So, how is the boutique coming along? I haven’t heard back from Chloé recently but I know these things take a bit of time so I didn’t think much of it.” Luka shoved his hands in his pockets as he spoke, rocking on his heels slightly.

“Very well, actually! We’ve chosen a name and we’re just waiting on business cards before we can start trying to network and promote the shop. I think we wanted to have an address nailed down before we ordered the cards though.”

“Makes sense, it’d be a pain to have people coming to your personal address to chat about clothing. Did Chloé tell you I offered to help you guys out?” A light growl sputtered from the sling and Marinette dipped her hand into the fabric to scratch behind Chat’s ears. His muscles relaxed only minutely and Mari pressed forward to give him the prolonged touch he needed whenever he seemed anxious.

“She did, thank you so much for offering. She also mentioned you and the band are looking for new show gear soon. I don’t do a lot of _costume_ work, but I could probably come up with something to pitch to you if I know what direction you’re going.” She babbled rapidly, trying to keep the flow of words to an audible rate.

“That would be great! I can’t make any _promises-_ “

“Oh no, of course not, I’d send a quote like everyone else-“

“I mean, I’m not exactly _in charge_ , we’re all equal partners and-“

“I don’t expect preferential treatment just because I know you-“

Both Marinette and Luka stopped abruptly, staring at each other and parsing the words the other had been sputtering before bursting into raucous laughter. Each time one of them managed to calm themselves slightly, they’d catch sight of the other and launch right back into hysterics while bystanders gave them an unnecessarily wide berth. The tensing of Chat’s back legs against her torso alerted Marinette to Chat’s stress level and she made an effort to stop the motion of her chest and stomach.

Still giggling and trying to control her breath, Mari pushed forward with the conversation. “I’d love to design something for you guys though, even if you don’t end up picking it. Might be good practice for me, and it would certainly round out my portfolio. Especially if you’re promoting us to any musicians with the same, hm, _dramatic flair_ you’ve got.” Marinette gestured broadly to Luka’s bright blue hair as she spoke, giving him a cheeky grin.

“Pff, you think blue hair’s dramatic? You’ve seen nothing yet, Mari.” Luka grinned as he leaned forward into Marinette’s space. He hovered there for a moment, allowing Marinette time for her eyes to widen and pulse to speed up. A furious snarl startled them out of the moment and Marinette glanced down her chest to see Chat, eyes flashing in rage and locked on Luka. His mouth was pulled into a wide, toothy grimace and he growled lowly until Luka moved to a distance Chat deemed appropriate. Marinette’s eyebrows lifted minutely and she tilted her head, puzzling through the behavior. _Does he not like males?_

“So, how much do you know about the band at the moment?” Marinette raised her eyes back to Luka’s, watching him and his calm demeanor despite the cat still glaring in his direction.

“Um, I know your mom is acting as your manager, since she’s great at it and knows so many people in the industry from when she was younger.”

“Yeah, those couple of years managing Jagged’s early career definitely paid off.”

“No doubt. I know you lost Juleka and Ivan when they went to _université_ but kept the Kitty Section name because, well, Rose. But not much else, honestly. I’ve been so busy with school to keep up with the music scene much.” She ducked her head slightly, ashamed of losing touch with her friends’ careers the way she did.

Luka waved dismissively, “Don’t worry about it. You were friends with Jules, it makes sense you wouldn’t keep up with a band she dropped out of before _université_ started. Besides, the whole thing with Chloé and I was...messy. I don’t blame anyone involved for wanting to forget that whole part of things.”

“Yeah.”

They stood awkwardly for a moment before Marinette glanced around, noting the long shadows and waning light. She wrapped her arm around Chat once more as she checked the time on her phone.

“Oh, wow, it’s really late. I didn’t mean to be out this long. I’ve got to get going, but I’ll get in touch with you later about those costumes, maybe? And the business cards of course.”

“Sure, can I get your number? I’ll call you so you have mine.” Marinette smiled warmly and rattled her number off, plugging in Luka’s details when his call came through on her own device. He smiled back at her, just as warmly.

“Maybe we can go get coffee and discuss the costumes sometime this week? Might be an easier setting to talk about it.” He slipped his phone back into his pocket and glanced back up hopefully.

“That would be good, and I’ll do a little research on Kitty Section before we do, see if I can’t catch up on you guys a bit. That way I’ll have an idea of where you’re at before we chat about where you plan to take the designs.”

“Sounds great, I’ll text you a day I’m available then. See you soon, Marinette.” He drew the syllables of her name out, smiling fondly as he waved goodbye and Marinette shivered slightly. Claws poked into her skin for the second time in the same outing and she stared down at Chat. His lips were peeled back slightly, baring his sharp front teeth.

“Don’t worry Kitten. Chloé would _murder_ me if I tried dating this ex. There’s a very good reason I never tried after they broke up. I like him, but it’s not worth breaking Chloé’s trust over. I’d have to talk to her first on that one. Besides,” she sighed heavily, “I don’t have time to be dating, remember? Old crushes notwithstanding.” A sharp growl erupted from Chat and Mari rolled her eyes.

“Come on Kitty. Let’s go home.”


	9. Communication

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Chat find a new way to communicate with one another.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you SO MUCH to CaughtFeelings and Tempomental on this chapter, it’s SO MUCH BETTER for having had your feedback.

Marinette craned her arm over Chat’s fluffy body to reach her laptop keyboard, grunting lightly as she realized she’d have to actually move the sleeping feline to do so. She gently lifted his body off her lap and forearm only to watch him shift himself back into place moments afterward. She sighed in resignation.

“Sorry, Chat. Time to move.” Marinette pursed her lips and moved him again, with slightly more force. He meowed pitifully and struggled to reposition himself back on Marinette’s lap without ever opening his eyes.

“Chat. I really need to be able to reach my computer.” Chat cracked his eyes open briefly before opening them wide and peering up at Marinette. He repeated the sad little mews, maintaining eye contact while he did. Mari chuckled.

“Drama kitten, you beg masterfully, but I really do need to use the computer, so...” She shifted him to the open space beside her and snorted in laughter at his irritated grumbling noise as he settled back in, kicking his hind legs a bit. He glared at her noises and Marinette could only laugh harder at the expression in his bright eyes.

“You’ll be fine, we’ll cuddle when I’m not working,” she said, typing her query rapidly into the search bar. “I know you didn’t really like Luka, but that contract could potentially be pretty valuable if I put together an impressive enough costume proposal for his band. They’ve basically worn the same outfits for years and they’re starting to get some _really_ nice gigs these days. Anarka is amazingly well connected in the industry, it’s pretty incredible.”

Marinette clicked through the ideas Luka had sent over once more, comparing them to the other ideas she’d gathered. She noted several design ideas for each band member as she did. The goal was to customize each one a bit while still making a cohesive design. It was a nice distraction from the thirty emails she’d left unread in her inbox while Alya and Chloe argued over details and fine tuned what they wanted out of a location contract. Eventually she’d have to chime in again, but for the moment they seemed content to bicker good-naturedly with one another. At least designing was simple.

“In concept at least,” she muttered, crossing yet another design idea off her list that another musician had used a version of recently. The previous designs the band had been using were haphazardly thrown together by each member with little thought as to how they all worked together. While it ended up making a charming display of character for a budding group of musicians in school, it didn’t exactly send the right message for a group of young adults about to embark on an international tour for the first time. She needed a theme for them to really rally behind if they were going to pick her for the job.

She’d been poking through old photos, Luka’s suggestions, and ridiculous haute couture until her eyes began to cross for days. Given the fact that they were coming unfocused yet again, she shut her laptop only slightly more forcefully than necessary. Marinette groaned and stretched her arms, staying seated for another moment. Chat’s head shot up next to her as she did and Mari grinned down at him.

“Yeah, I’m done for now, Kitty cat. _For now._ ” He started to shimmy excitedly in the chair and she pulled her warning tone out to caution him about possibly working later. “I probably need to start drawing some stuff next, but not right now.”

She checked the time briefly, noting the day had passed the lunch hour some time ago. She plodded into the kitchen, limping a bit as she rubbed feeling back into her tingling legs. She opened the fridge and began to root around for something to eat, eventually deciding on laziness before pulling a half loaf of not-too-terribly-stale bread from her parents’ shop from it. She munched on it while spooning a bit of wet food into a bowl for Chat. He still hadn’t moved from where he’d been peering over the back of the couch, only ears and eyes showing over the back. Marinette waved her bread at him and swallowed before speaking.

“Hey Kitty, we missed lunch. Hungry?” He made a fluttery little rumble in his throat before stretching his limbs slowly and coming over to the kitchen. Mari set his food on the counter at his seat and sank into her own. Chat glared at her, tail swishing jerkily behind him.

“Don’t judge me, Chat. You’re eating a bowl of chunky tuna meat.” Chat flicked his ears, sitting on the counter and continuing to stare resolutely back at her. He glanced back and forth between the bread in Marinette’s hand and her eyes for several moments. Marinette pushed Chat’s bowl closer to him in the hopes he would give up, but he studiously ignored the food in favor of making Marinette uncomfortable. His eyes narrowed and ears pinned to his head as she raised the bread to her mouth. Frowning, Marinette lowered the bread to watch his reaction. Chat’s ears raised. She lifted the bread. Ears down.

“Huh. Um, did you want some?” One of his eyes twitched slightly and Marinette tore a chunk of bread off the loaf. She held it out for him to take, but Chat sniffed and continued his staring contest.

“Please don’t tell me you’re trying to guilt me out of eating the bread. It’s not that stale.” Chat meowed and narrowed his eyes again, darkening his irises to almost black. Marinette sighed.

“One meow for yes, two for no, Chat!” She giggled at the dumb joke and raised the bread once more only to stop dead in her tracks as she heard two clear meows from the cat on her counter. Wide, shocked eyes met his and she dropped the bread onto the counter top.

“Did- Did you just tell me no?” One meow. Marinette swallowed roughly, suddenly much less hungry.

“Holy crap. Do you understand me?” She whispered, leaning forward slightly.

Chat met her eyes clearly and tilted his chin upward. “Meow.”

She sat back, jaw slack and limbs feeling loose and weightless. “Well crap. No wonder you didn’t like being treated like a cat. You’ve understood _everything_ I’ve said?”

“Meow.” He leaned forward and rubbed the top of his head on her hand.

Marinette’s hands shook as she reached for the bread. She fiddled with the crust for a moment before holding it up for him to see. “You don’t want me to eat this?”

Two meows.

“Do _you_ want to eat it?”

Two more meows.

“Okay. Um. Okay. Do you want me to eat something else?” He hesitated before mewing once, followed by two more rapid meows.

“So...yes but no?” One more. Her eyebrows furrowed and Marinette tapped her lips with a single finger while she thought about how to phrase her next thought.

“ _Do_ eat the bread, but don’t.” She muttered into her palm for a minute. Chat leapt off the counter, padding toward the fridge before standing on his back legs and pawing at the door. “Should I eat something else _too?_ ”

An enthusiastic single meow made her grin widely in success and she moved from her chair to crouch in front of Chat, leaning forward to tap her finger on Chat’s nose. “Silly kitty, are you trying to take care of me?”

Chat meowed once more, happily leaning his head into her, and licked gently at her finger before she could retrieve it. Marinette giggled lightly before standing once more to browse the fridge options. She shifted several items around before finding what she was looking for.

“If I make this into a sandwich will that make you happy?”

“Meow.” He rubbed his side against her calf, twining himself between her feet repeatedly.

“Awesome.” She pulled the meats and cheese from the fridge, setting them on the counter before reversing direction and grabbing the jar of spicy roe mayonnaise as well. She generously spread the condiment onto her bread before layering the other items on top. As she finished making the sandwich and began to tidy, she thought about what to ask Chat next. _Now that I actually **know** he understands me **and** has a way to respond. Sort of._

Marinette plopped back down onto the stool and brought the sandwich to her lips. Chat jumped onto the counter and dropped back into his spot. She maintained eye contact with Chat as she took a cautious bite and chewed slowly. He held her gaze long enough for her to swallow the bite, meowed once with an excited little butt wiggle, and bent his head to tend to his own meal. The two ate in silence, but Marinette’s mind was far from containing any of the peaceful silence inhabiting the room. _I have to be losing it. Hyper-intelligent cat is one thing, but understanding speech and **communicating** is completely different._

Swallowing her last bite, Marinette pushed her chair back with a light scrape. She walked to the couch and slid the laptop back into its case before dropping onto the couch to settle her body into the cushions. She brought a hand to her mouth as she tried to pull her thoughts into a semblance of order. After a few moments alone, Chat joined her, licking his nose and eyeing her while he remained on the floor. As if evaluating her behavior. _I mean, if I’m not crazy, he probably is._

“Okay, well that’s it, kitty cat. I’m officially insane.” Marinette declared the statement with a flourish of her hand as if she were signing something. Chat meowed twice, sounding irritated, before jumping onto her lap. He flicked his tail in her face before turning to face her and making himself comfortable atop her thighs. His ears and tail twitched back and forth, unable to settle as the rest of him appeared to.

“Kitten, I’m serious. I thought you were _responding_ to me when I asked you things, that’s plenty of proof that I’m losing my mind.” Marinette spoke as she always did when anxious, quickly and near impossible to understand. Chat seemed to follow well enough, however. _Which really isn’t helping my case here._

“Maybe it’s stress!” She waved one hand frantically in the air, while dropping the other into the fur along Chat’s back. “I’ve been working _so hard,_ I’ve actually broken my own brain! It was nice knowing you, Chat, but you’re gonna have to find a new place to live when they come to take me away-OW!” Chat flexed his paws, digging his claws into Marinette’s thighs and abruptly ending the tirade. He huffed a breath and settled his head onto his forelegs, looking up at her with darkened eyes and before shifting his gaze away sullenly. Marinette glared down at him.

“Rude.” _But effective._

“Meow.”

Marinette drew a deep breath in, feeling lightheaded and mildly dizzy as she did so. She allowed the dizziness to pass before speaking again. “Okay. You understand me. Whether or not that’s because I’m insane-“ Claws sank into her jeans again and Marinette batted Chat’s paws off her thighs, “that means you can tell me _why_ you’ve done certain things-“

Two meows interrupted her speech and Marinette shushed him. “Hush. As long as I ask the right questions. Yes?” Chat blinked slowly up at Mari from his perch before loosing a long, low meow. His tail flicked once, purposefully. “Great.”

Marinette leaned back into the cushions once more before moving her fingers into place to scratch at the spot behind his twitching ears. Chat relaxed slightly, but his tail and ears continued their agitated movements. She redoubled her efforts, making no move to speak until he had calmed down enough to shut his eyes contentedly.

“Okay Kitten. Let’s start simple. Can you actually speak?”

Chat’s eyes remained closed while he gave two meows and Mari nodded, disappointed but wholly unsurprised.

“Right, kind of figured. Thought I’d ask. Yes or no questions get tedious. Have you always understood me?” Marinette tilted her head to the side while running her nails along Chat’s spine.

He hesitated before opening his eyes to meet hers. He kept eye contact, while his eyes shifted only slightly and he meowed once. Mari nodded curtly, satisfied.

“Did you pick me because of what I said to that girl Manon?”

He meowed once followed by two more, his head tilting to the side slightly as he did so.

“Huh. Okay. But you were _interested_ because of that?”

One more meow, followed by Chat rubbing his his head on the thigh he was perched on.

She nodded again, happy that her attempts to piece together questions were working. Chat continued to rub his head on her leg while she thought about the phrasing of her next query.

“Did you try talking to me earlier?” An excited meow burst out of Chat and he bubbled over with energy. His whole body began to twitch and wiggle on her lap while he emitted happy little mewls. Marinette nearly fell over with the force of her responding laughter. “Little desperate for conversation by now, aren’t you, Kitty?”

Marinette continued to chuckle at the random images of Chat desperately trying to communicate with her while she obliviously flitted about their home. Chat glared back as she did, but the brightness of his eyes betrayed his delight.

“Oh, I bet that lip would be pretty far out by now if you were human, huh Chat? Trying to convince me of how upset you are.” She poked a finger at his lower lip and Chat shook his head to throw her hand off before responding in the affirmative.

“Okay, so let’s see. How about the dress. You hate it?”

 **Yes.** The reply came complete with a little head bob and Marinette nodded back at him.

“Is it the color?” she asked.

 **No.** His head settled back onto her lap.

“Pattern?”

 **No.** Chat butted his head against her hand in a clear demand for more pets. Marinette complied.

Marinette shook her head. “Okay, is it Lila? Do you just not like her?”

 **Yes no.** He craned his head into her movements. _To be fair, I guess he hasn’t met her. He probably doesn’t like her voice._

“But you don’t like that she designed it. Correct?”

 **Yes.** A tiny head bob came with the reply and Chat licked at Marinette’s hand again.

“But not _because_ she designed it?” Her voice raised as she attempted to work out the next line of questioning, a bit at a loss for words.

 **No.** His eyes had closed again at this point and a light purr started to emit from his chest while Marinette pet him.

“Alright, Kitten, I don’t know how to phrase ‘why’ into a yes or no question. But if you can understand me, you can understand when I say _do not maul that dress._ Lila made a _very_ helpful deal with me to be able to wear it to our grand opening.” She removed her hands from his fur while she glared sternly at Chat, trying to impress the utter imperative nature of the command upon him. Chat begrudgingly meowed once and she decided to take it as agreement.

Marinette returned her fingers to their gentle rubbing at Chat’s ears, content to listen to his rumbling purrs and let the line of questioning drop for the time being. _If it’s real and not all in my head, he’ll still be doing this tomorrow. But for now..._

“Hey Chat?”

 **Yes?** His ears twitched up and he lifted his head to listen to her last question for the moment.

“Do you like the name I gave you?”

 _ **Yes.**_ He pressed his head into her hand, keeping it there while he simply purred and closed his eyes, the fluffy picture of perfectly contented cat.

She smiled warmly. “Okay then.”

 


	10. Art Block

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloé proposes a solution to Marinette’s art block and Marinette makes Chat slightly uncomfortable.

Marinette rolled a pink gel pen across her desk with one hand, bringing it close to the line of pens she’d dumped onto the surface. The fifty pack had come in random order and she mindlessly compared the shade of it to several others before muttering to herself. “Twenty-six maybe.” She pursed her lips and squinted at the pen agitatedly when it didn’t quite match, and removed it from the line to try again.

“You’re coming out with me, Marinette. I’m not going to let you say no this time, not after I spent the last half an hour of my life listening to you complain about your _“art block”_ and _“way too many projects at once”.”_ Chloé’s voice floated over the phone, stern and business-like. Marinette rolled her eyes, knowing her friend couldn’t see it but going through with the motion anyway.

“If you had actually been listening Chloé, instead of working on something else while I talked-“

“I’m multitasking, _chérie._ ”

_“-then you’d know_ that I really need to focus on all of that stuff. Time at the desk is crucial to work through blocks sometimes, I can’t always flit off when I’m stuck on things.” Marinette spun her pen around the first two fingers of her right hand, fiddling with the idea of strengthening the line she was eyeing.

“Mari. _You’re stressed._ You’re stuck, but you’re not breaking through and getting productive. Working more isn’t going to help that. You’re not even reading the emails discussing the location anymore, and you know I can see that you’re not.” Mari started to protest, but Chloé continued as if she hadn’t heard anything. _“Sometimes_ time at the desk you don’t actually have helps you, but I know you and I know when you’re too far in your head. So tonight? Tonight you’re coming out with me. Leave the sketchbook at home. Exist outside of work for a moment. Have a drink maybe. This will _do you good._ I’m picking you up in an hour, and I’m dragging you out the door in _whatever_ you end up wearing. So unless you feel comfortable wearing your old gym shorts and random gigantic T-shirt, I’m gonna suggest a shower, makeup, perfume, and _clothing._ Wear that red thing that you keep telling me you’re saving for that special occasion that never comes up. That skirt fabric is way too nice to just go to waste in your closet. Ta!”

Any protest that Marinette had readied for the end of Chloé’s speech was cut off as the phone line abruptly went silent. Marinette stared down at her phone in annoyance and a bit of concern. While Chloé might be right about her needing some relaxation time, her taste in _relaxation_ didn’t always match up with Marinette’s.

Marinette sighed, rolling her head back along her shoulders. She dropped the pink pen, flipped the sketchbook closed, and wandered toward the bathroom while trying to work the kinks out of her neck from sitting for hours on end. She stomped on the way to the bathroom, pouting in the only way she could given the absence of her pushy friend. Chat followed, meowing in concern. He stopped at the bathroom door, turned, and settled himself on the bed to wait. Marinette smiled at him briefly as she shut the door behind her.

She pulled her hair from the loose ponytail she’d had it in for working and leaned toward the mirror to examine her face more closely. The bags under her eyes weren’t as prominent as they could be, but she rubbed at her face in annoyance all the same. She pulled several bottles and jars from under her sink and scrubbed lightly with a face cream before turning the water on in her shower. She allowed the water to warm while she undressed and gathered all her supplies, including a floral scented body wash that always helped her to calm down when she was stressed in the past.

She stepped into the shower, allowing the warm water to drift lazily down her hair and back. Marinette sighed heavily and felt some of the tension leave her neck as her shoulders relaxed into the heat. She rinsed the cream from her face, rubbing at her forehead and temples to remove the sting of being told what to do with her evening. Marinette scrubbed a bit harder than necessary at her arms and legs with her loofah, not stopping until her skin was left soft, pink, and more than a little tender in the hot water of the shower.

Marinette continued to stand under the water for a moment or two longer before shutting off the water and stepping out. She dried off with a great deal more gentleness than she’d approached scrubbing with before grabbing at the lotion she’d left on the counter. Cherry blossoms and jasmine pressed against her remaining irritation, settling the air around her until nothing of her annoyance was able to remain. She smiled at the feel of the chilled lotion gliding easily across her skin, making her nerves feel softened and soothed. Wrapping a towel around herself, Marinette left the bathroom to find an outfit that might fit Chloé’s requirements for whatever she had planned this evening. _Probably a club,_ she lamented.

As she entered the room, Chat meowed quietly and with a little tilt to the sound, as if asking a question. Marinette glanced over at him, finding him perched at the edge of the bed tilting his head to the side. She sat down next to him and he nosed her arm gently before licking her hand. He reeled back, repeatedly sticking his tongue out to rid himself of the taste of her lotion. Marinette giggled at him pinching his eyes closed and shaking his head rapidly, slightly guilty that she hadn’t warned him.

“Sorry Kitten, I didn’t think you were going to lick my hand with the lotion still on it. I guess it smells nice but doesn’t taste very good, huh?”

Chat continued to shake his head and stick his tongue out, but managed to meow twice in mournful little yowls. Marinette reached out to scratch behind his ears in apology and he laid his head down on her lap as if seeking comfort for a trauma much greater than a bad taste in his mouth.

“Sorry. Chloé called and she’s making me go out tonight, so I’m getting ready to leave the apartment. I needed a little stress relief before _Chloé’s_ version of stress relief.” Chat stopped moving and his head craned up so his eyes could meet hers. The acid green widened dramatically before his mouth opened.

**No?** The tilt of his head and lilt in his mews made it clear that he was asking, and not demanding that she not go. But it was obvious that he didn’t want her to leave the apartment without him.

“Well, she didn’t exactly give me a choice here. And it’s probably a club, so I’m _definitely_ not bringing you in the sling. You’d probably get squished and that would be really sad for everyone.” She shrugged, giving his head a last scratch before moving her hand to hold the towel as she stood to search her closet for an outfit.

Chat laid his head on the bed, making a soft ‘mrr’ sound for so long that it started to sound like a sad little growl and Mari chuckled while shoving outfits aside. She settled on a pair of black three quarter leggings paired with a short black circle skirt with a red crinoline overlay. Marinette grumbled at the hangers when her simple ruched tank caught on one side. She laid the outfit on the bed, examining the red of the top and the crinoline to make sure they didn’t clash in any dramatic fashion before nodding in approval at the ensemble. Dropping the towel onto her bed to change, her head snapped up at the sound of a loud yowl followed by Chat leaping off the bed. Mari crouched to see Chat’s tail vanishing under the bed. She grimaced, and quickly changed into the outfit. _If he’s smart enough to talk to me, I probably shouldn’t be changing in front of him._

“Hey Chat? Did I make you uncomfortable just now?”

**Yes!** His meow came loud and sharp, and Marinette’s mouth pulled into a contrite moue.

“I’m sorry Chat. Can...can you come out now? I’m dressed and I kind of want to apologize to your face.” She watched as he crawled out from under the bed, ears pinned back and tail reluctant to leave the space under their bed. He sat at Marinette’s feet, unwilling to look up. Marinette sat in front of him, crossing her legs and hunching slightly to try to see his face.

“I really am sorry. I didn’t think about it. I should have, you’re more than smart enough to have a conversation. I should have thought about making you feel weird. Did someone make you feel bad about seeing them change in the past?” His eyes lifted slowly to meet hers, ears still back.

**Yes?** Marinette tilted her head at the questioning tilt in his voice, but chose not to pry further into it.

“Then I’m a little extra sorry. Forgive me?” She held one hand out, palm up.

Yes. He placed a paw in her outstretched hand and mewed again before dropping the paw and rubbing his head in her palm instead. Only to jump in terror as a sharp knock rattled the front door. Marinette turned to the noise and by the time she’d turned back to her cat, he’d slipped back under the bed once more.

“Hey Kitten, if you want to meet Chloé, this will be the time. No pressure though. I’m gonna get the door.” She rose, readjusting the skirt around her hips, and walked briskly to the door. Once the door was open, Chloé breezed inside, a coffee in one hand and her phone in the other.

“Right, so I’m thinking _Le Cavern,_ off _Rue Dauphine,_ it’s excellent.” Marinette rolled her eyes, not at all mollified by being correct about her guess in venue.

“Chloé, I don’t do these nightclubs you love so much,” she started, easing the door shut behind her preoccupied friend.

“Yeah, I know, that’s why I picked _Cavern._ It’s got good drinks, plenty of food to choose from, it’s a live music scene, and I know the DJ that’s playing tonight. _His_ mom is an old friend of _my_ mom and you’ll probably really like his taste in music. It’s none of that XY stuff you can’t stand. Good stuff, international influences and all that.” Marinette stood a little straighter, perking up with the knowledge that Chloé had actually chosen according to her own tastes this time around.

“Really? And you arranged transportation this time, right?” She raised one eyebrow, remembering the last time she’d gone out with Chloé. The event had ended with her alone in a nightclub, waiting on Chloé to come pick her up when the woman in question had already wandered out of the bar an hour earlier without notifying her of the departure.

“In my defense, I did leave you the keys and my car that last time.” She raised her eyebrows right back, sipping from the travel mug in her right hand.

“Yes, but you didn’t tell me you’d left, so I didn’t want to ditch _you,_ hence my giving you the ultimatum that I’m not going out with you unless we have _external_ transportation arranged.” Marinette crossed her arms over her chest, attempting to arrange her face to match the sassy look Chloé had mastered in her childhood.

“Fine, yes, I remembered. Jean-Michel is driving us there and back,” Chloé waved her phone laden hand dismissively and brought it back in front of her face to check something on it. “Speaking of, are you ready to go?”

Marinette looked pointedly down at her sock covered feet and back up at Chloé. “Yeah. Totally. Not like my hair is uncombed and shoes off or anything.”

“Hey, I don’t judge. I’m also not surprised when you don’t have suitors at the end of the night if you go out like that.” She lifted the edge of her mouth in a wry little grin and Marinette rolled her eyes once more, fondly this time.

“Pff, alright, I’ll go finish getting ready. Be nice to Chat if you see him, he’s a little shy meeting new people.” Hurrying back to the bathroom, Marinette dragged her brush through her hair and quickly tied the dark locks back into a high bun before walking back out to find her black ballet flats and faux leather jacket. She stopped as she entered the main room, mildly surprised to see Chat sitting in front of Chloé purring lightly and rubbing his head on her bent knee.

“Wow.”

“Hey Mari, where did you say you got this cat?” Chloé didn’t look up at her, a slight frown painted on her features as she scratched behind Chat’s ears and he attempted not to melt into the floor.

“Oh, uh, just that animal shelter nearby, the one Alya got Trixx at. I’d have to look at the paperwork to remember the name of it. Are you warming up to the idea of a cat now?” She teased Chloé lightly, still surprised to see her actually _petting_ an animal, as she slipped her feet into her shoes.

“Not a chance. He looks a lot like my cousin’s cat. Just curious, that’s all. The resemblance isn’t exact though, I’m pretty sure that one had less...fluff.” She had a distasteful turn to her lips as she pulled her hand away to see fur clinging to her fingers.

“Ah, sorry, he’s needing brushing. I haven’t gotten around to it today.” Mari shuffled around for a purse in her closet for a moment before sliding the chosen bag around her shoulders and jamming her phone into it.

“No sketchbook!” Chloé sang at her, smug look firmly in place as she monitored the items Marinette slipped into the purse with her phone.

Marinette stuck her lower lip out and pouted slightly as she slouched and mumbled back, “I wasn’t going to!”

She finished packing the small pouch and spread her arms, spinning lightly to send the skirt flaring just a bit. “How do I look now?”

“Fine, good enough for a casual place like _Cavern._ It’s not fancy, Mari, you don’t have to worry.”

“I know, you don’t take me to the super fancy ones since I asked you to stop, but the question still stands.” She gestured around with one hand, waving to her outfit.

“You look very trendy. It’s good. I like it, I’m not gonna judge you for your choice tonight.”

Marinette raised a hand to her head, pretending to swoon over the back of the couch dramatically. “Thank the _stars,_ the great Chloé Bourgeois isn’t going to judge my fashion taste!” She grinned up from the couch to see Chloé’s unimpressed look, but caught the slight twitching at the ends of her mouth indicating that she’d managed to amuse her friend. “Alright, I’m ready. Lemme get Chat set up for the night before we go.”

She checked both of his bowls for food and water before leaning down to give Chat’s head a parting pat. He leaned into her touch, letting out another long, sad meow and batting at her hand lightly.

“Sorry Kitten, I’ll be back soon enough. Do _you_ think I look alright?” His shoulders dropped a bit and his ears, already pinned back, seemed to flatten further against his head. He stared at the floor before raising his eyes to meet hers.

**Yes.** He replied after a moment, spitting the word out a bit and still sounding reluctant to see her go.

“Thanks Kitty, be good and don’t destroy the house.”

**Yes.**

“I’m sorry, are you talking to your cat?” Chloé had dropped the hand holding her phone to her side and looked like she might be on the verge of losing the coffee in the other as Marinette looked up at her from her place on the floor.

“Um, yes? A lot of people talk to their cats.”

“Yeah, and how many cats actually _talk back?”_ Chloé snapped sharply, nearly cutting off Marinette’s reply as she did. Her eyes narrowed as she stared back at Marinette, looking suspicious and angry. Marinette grimaced slightly and tried to paste a sincere smile on her face. _She is going to think I am **insane.**_

“He’s just really smart?”

“Uh huh.” They stared at each other for a moment longer, Chloé’s eyes darting around Mari’s face as if searching for something before she sighed and shook her head. “Fine, whatever. Ready to go?”

“Ready as I’m gonna get.”

_“Allons-y alors.”_ Chloé smirked at Marinette as she placed a hand on her back to shuttle her out the door, _almost_ distracting Marinette enough that she wouldn’t catch her friend shooting a final glance back into the apartment at the lonely black shape seated on the floor where she’d left him. She cocked her head slightly and went to ask Chloé why she’d done that, but as her friend locked the apartment door for her and ushered her down the stairs, she realized she had more pressing things to deal with than Chloé’s sudden interest in her cat.


	11. Clubbing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chloé and Marinette head to a club to relax a bit. Marinette meets Nino for the first time.

Marinette held the expression on her face steady as Chloé pulled her bodily into the club. It wasn’t as loud as she’d feared, but the crush of nearby bodies made her feel nervous, the jittery strum sliding up and down her spine while she traveled in the Chloé’s shadow toward the rear of the club. Chloé finally released her iron grip on Marinette’s arm when they approached the small stage. Marinette glanced around, taking in their surroundings curiously. The stage couldn’t have fit more than a band of five musicians at a time, but it was currently housing a DJ setup, in bright blues, reds, and yellows. Stripes of the colors lined every piece of equipment currently on display, clearly marking them as a set. A tall man with short cropped curly hair stood behind the largest table, tapping at buttons and calling out to a man near the back of the room. The man occasionally held a thumbs up or down, helping the DJ to fine tune the sound he was creating in the room.

The DJ had large headphones on and his head was down, focusing on his work. He’d angled the headphones so one ear was partially free, and as a result he was able to hear the clear shout Chloé let out to get his attention.

“Nino! Over here!” Chloé waved frantically, and Nino’s eyes locked on her before he grinned widely and gestured the two of them over. Chloé hugged Nino in a show of aggressive affection, knocking the wind out of him before allowing him to turn his attention to Marinette. He smiled kindly at Mari and she gave a little smile and wave in return.

“Hey Chlo, I’m really glad you could make it! How was work? I thought you had to stay late today?” He shoved his hands deep into his pockets as he spoke. He fidgeted with something inside, causing his arms to wiggle a bit as if he couldn’t quite allow himself to be still for even a moment.

Chloé waved her phone in the air. “Oh, I’m still working. But I promised I’d make it tonight and I did. I might have to duck out a couple times but I’m hoping I can get through part of your set before I do.”

Nino nodded, pursing his lips a bit as he did. “Fair enough, I wish I could offer you a quiet back room for that, but I’m just not that popular yet. No special demands for me.” He grinned broadly at that, clearly amused. Chloé responded by laughing heartily and clapping him on the back enthusiastically. Marinette fidgeted with her bag as she watched the two of them chatting for a moment before peering around the club a bit more.

The club echoed oddly down the cavernous main room and halls. Fanciful raised arches and brickwork were hidden by sturdy metal plates. Whether they were for aesthetic or structural integrity, they had been fixed into place around each of the pillars making up each low arch of the ceiling. The small main room had a few short tables and cushioned chairs, but the majority of the space was obviously reserved for those who wished to dance or stand near the bar area. An impressive number of wires and cables stretched across the ceiling, a testament to necessary creative solutions for new technology merging with old buildings. It seemed cozy for now. _But it’s definitely not going to once it fills up in a few hours._

“Mari? Wanna meet Nino? I completely spaced that you’ve never met before.” Marinette yanked her attention back to the pair standing nearby. Chloé bore a chagrined grimace on her face while Nino was the picture of polite amusement. Marinette giggled quietly before walking back over to hold a hand out to Nino.

“Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I’m a friend of Chloé’s from school. And we’re opening a boutique together, as soon as our location gets nailed down.” She smiled pleasantly, pleased by the firm pressure in Nino’s handshake as well as the respectful distance he kept. Her experiences in clubs hadn’t always led her to believe people would respect her personal space to any degree, but for the moment Nino kept a polite gap between them.

“Nino Lahiffe. Chloé’s mom and my mom are old friends. We spent a lot of time together before _école_ and quite a bit when our parents would hang out on weekends.” He retracted his hand, giving Marinette an opportunity to clap her own together.

“Oh, now I remember hearing about you! How funny that we never actually met before now.” She smiled a bit wider, retrieving a memory of Chloé telling her about her childhood friend. “Are you the one with the pancake fiasco?”

Nino chuckled while Chloé looked as sheepish as she was capable of. “I mean, it was me and her cousin both, and I’m pretty sure it was Chloé’s idea in the first place. Making pancakes when none of us had ever even turned on a stove before? There should have been pancake batter in _way_ more places than we got it.”

“It wasn’t that bad.” Chloé huffed and crossed her arms over her chest, looking away as she did.

“Chlo, Adrien tried to use a _blender_ to mix the batter. It was on everything. And then we tried cooking the batter directly on your mom’s glass top stove. It could only have been worse if we’d decided chocolate sauce belonged on top of it. Oh wait, _we did.”_ With every word out of Nino’s mouth, Chloé’s glower deepened and eventually progressed to a full-out scowl. Marinette shoved both fists into her mouth, desperately trying to keep from sputtering and howling at the images her mind conjured up.

“Oh god, and then we tried to _clean it_ before your parents got up, because of course we chose the only day they could sleep in. But we tried to clean everything with the fancy dish soap and no matter how much water we added, we couldn’t make the bubbles stop foaming up on the countertops.” Marinette gave up the battle and doubled over, cackling and gasping for air. Nino grinned proudly.

“Okay, enough embarrassing stories about me,” Chloé grumbled and Marinette patted her arm comfortingly, hiding the grin that she couldn’t quite squash yet. “Mom still hasn’t quite forgiven me for that particular incident.”

“She brings it up when I visit,” Marinette offered as an aside to Nino. He snorted.

“Speaking of, we are _probably_ due for another visit before we open the boutique, Mari. My mother will want to see some of your designs for the grand opening; you know how she likes to be included.”

Nino clicked his fingers together as if trying to remember something he forgot. “Hey, won’t your uncle want to see them too?”

“He’s coming to the grand opening and I’m not letting him judge us one minute before. I can’t avoid the accusations that my mother is helping us with everything, but now that Uncle Gabe is investing in the boutique, I _really_ need to keep him from having a creative hand in anything.” Chloé crossed her arms and scowled at Nino’s suggestion.

“Is this why I still haven’t met him?” Marinette raised an eyebrow in Chloé’s direction curiously.

“Yes. It’s so much easier to deny his involvement if our _designer_ has never even met him. Also he’s kind of a jerk. He’s married to my incredibly sweet aunt but he’s just that _one step_ removed from family that means he’s thinks its okay to be kind of unpleasant for no real reason.”

“Or maybe his personality just sucks,” Nino muttered, clearly assuming his volume was out of earshot.

Marinette sighed. “Great. If he weren’t funding us, I’d ask why we’re associating.”

“Mm.” Chloé made a noncommittal noise accompanied by a quick eyebrow lift and turned back to Nino, who had been watching most of the conversation with interest. “When does your set start, Nino?”

He checked his watch before replying and Marinette noted the same bright coloring on his timepiece that decorated the nearby equipment. “Ummm, probably in an hour. I’ll do a sound check and then let something mellow play while I wait for the place to get a little livelier.” He fished a couple of papers from his jeans pocket, checking them before handing several to Chloé.

“Here, I got free drink vouchers, I’d go grab a drink and a seat before everyone crowds in here. Doesn’t seem to matter who’s playing, this place is usually pretty packed.” Chloé took the vouchers eagerly, smiling at her friend before waving goodbye. Marinette followed her to the bar, where she slipped the drink tickets to the bartender and ordered for the both of them.

“IDs please, mademoiselles.” Both girls handed their cards to the man and he smiled politely before wandering off to retrieve their drinks. Marinette’s raspberry sour ale was ready before Chloé obtained her mocha martini and Marinette left the bar first with drink in hand to go pick out a table for the two of them. She chose the one nearest the stage, waving lightly at Nino once more when he looked up and saw her table of choice.

Chloé walked up shortly afterward, gliding into the seat next to Marinette and slipping an arm around her shoulders. Mari leaned into her shoulder and sipped at her drink slowly, trying to savor the initial sweetness before tart washed over her tongue in a wave.

After a few minutes of silently working through their drinks, Chloé cleared her throat and spoke. “So, what do you think of Nino?”

Marinette set her drink down gently, playing with the beading condensation on the sides of the glass. “I think he’s very nice. It was very kind of him to give us some drink vouchers. Why?”

Chloé shrugged. “No reason, he’s just a childhood friend and you’re a school friend. I’d like for you guys to get along.”

“Fair. I like him.”

Chloé nodded and raised her chocolate syrup drizzled cocktail in a belated toast. “Hey, to getting out of the house.”

Marinette snorted. She raised her own glass and clinked it to Chloé’s with an amused tilt to her lips. “To relaxing in unexpected ways.” 

“Hear hear.” 

The two watched Nino work through his sound check in relative silence, enjoying each other’s company while waiting for the night’s entertainment to start. He gave a cheery thumbs up when he finished, and tapped a couple of buttons to start some light music before trotting off to retrieve his own drink. Marinette watched the crowd begin to filter into the club, wishing she had a notebook to doodle in while people-watching.

“You had better not have brought a small notebook or something, I can see that look.”

Marinette choked back a cackle before replying, “I did not, in fact, bring a notebook. You watched me to make sure of it. I _was_ wishing I had one though.”

Chloé flicked her head while sipping at her drink once more. “Good. This is supposed to be lower stress. Don’t screw it up.”

Marinette chuckled. She leaned back in her chair, feeling the stiff cushion at her back give just a little as she did. She picked at the peeling upholstery with a fingernail, allowing her attention to be drawn by the more unusually dressed patrons and fantasizing about the most dramatically strange creations she could design based around an element of their appearance. _Purple hair, I could do so **much** with that shade. Ooooh, the sparkles on that jacket are **amazing** , I wonder if he’d let me see them up close._

Her attention fell away from the crowd as someone introduced Nino and the man in question stepped forward to claim the microphone. The lights dimmed as he began his set and Marinette allowed herself to become immersed in the music filtering through the speakers.

Chloé had been right, while the music was electronically produced, it was neither mindless nor overly repetitive. It was clear that Nino had put plenty of thought and care into his choices for the night, allowing for music that was appropriate for dancing, socializing, or sharing drinks. It was mixed cleanly, eliminating the highs and lows of volume that many musicians had trouble controlling. He began the night with high energy music, interjecting songs that allowed those dancing time to relax and recover from their exertions before ramping the mood back up. After listening intently for a while, Chloé downed the last of her drink and motioned to Marinette that she wanted to go dance. Marinette waved to her, drinking slowly while her friend all but shoved her way through the center of the crowd. She watched the dancers for a bit longer before finishing her own drink and moving to join Chloé where she’d gravitated toward the stage.

Nino had just selected a slower song when Mari reached her destination, and Chloé grabbed her hands enthusiastically. She laughed as they spun a bit, whirling into a slower song and giggling to each other while they danced. Marinette lost track of the hours they spent in the swirl of music and bodies, a comfortable warmth pressing into her chest. _It’s been too long since Chloé and I had time together. I forgot how much I enjoy this when it’s music I actually **like.**_

They continued dancing together until Nino started thanking everyone for coming and enjoying his set, pressing a button to allow a pre-made dance set to continue without his assistance. He wandered their direction, and Marinette located a new table while Chloé squealed, hugging and congratulating Nino on the performance. They settled into the plush seats, Chloé still chattering about how much she liked the blend of music that he’d been playing. Nino interjected excitedly when she asked about a specific element of the music, explaining the thought process he’d had when designing the piece. Marinette pressed into the chair, fanning herself with one hand.

“I’m gonna grab water guys, want one?” She rose and held up three fingers when both nodded at her. She battled her way to the bar, ordering three bottles of water, and turning to head back to the table. She expected to see Chloé still excitedly waving her hands around and ranting at Nino, but was instead curious to see the two with heads close together and clearly whispering seriously to each other. Their heads were turned slightly away from the bar area and neither noticed Marinette approaching. She slowly made her way back over to the table, not wanting to interrupt. Nino was nodding, a frown marring his face before shaking his head. Marinette moved closer, hoping they would notice her presence before she heard anything that they didn’t want her to be privy to.

She stopped when she caught the low words. “-been missing for more than a year now, Nino. It’s worth looking into, isn’t it?”

“He could have just left, Chloé. No one would really blame him for it.”

“He’s not like that. He would have told me.”

Marinette grimaced, mortified at walking into the conversation. She walked forward, announcing her presence loudly as she did. “Here you go, guys!”

Chloé and Nino thanked her with wide smiles, and Marinette tried to ignore the slight strain present in Chloé’s eyes when she did. She cracked her own bottle and took a long swig before turning to Chloé.

“How are you feeling, about ready to call it a night?” Marinette injected as much cheer into her words as possible, hoping they wouldn’t think she’d been eavesdropping intentionally.

“Ah, sure, that’s fine. I really just wanted to be here for Nino, I don’t need to stay any longer. It’s getting pretty late.” Chloé’s voice had flattened in the time it took for Marinette to retrieve the waters, and Mari flinched at the lack of intonation in her friend’s speech. Nino caught it as well, judging by the frown stealing across his face.

“Hey, Chlo, would you mind giving me a ride home? I’m leaving the set here until they close, I’ve worked out a deal with the owner. I’ll just come back for it in the morning if you can take me.”

Chloé’s eyebrows rose in stark disbelief and she took several moments before she spoke. “Yeah, no problem. Mari, can we take you home first? I think I left something in your apartment.”

“Um. Yeah, that’s fine.” Mari nodded, relieved to not have to talk Chloé into leaving for the next hour or so. She watched Chloé dial for their ride as Nino grabbed his laptop and spoke to the club owner about his gear. Jean-Michel pulled the car up to the front of the club, and all three clambered into the vehicle only to sit in uneasy silence for the ride back to Marinette’s apartment. She tried to pull Chloé back out  of her funk, but after a few attempts she gave up and allowed her friend to wallow while she chatted aimlessly with Nino instead.

They spent several minutes talking about Nino’s set and what specifically Marinette enjoyed about it so he could improve for the next venue before Nino slipped a question into a lull in the conversation. “Hey, so Chloé tells me you have a cat that looks a lot like Adrien’s used to. Would you mind if I came up to see him for a minute?”

“Uh.” Marinette’s eyes widened and she felt panic shoot down her spine, the thought of someone else owning Chat and wanting to take him away from her triggering straight adrenaline in her veins.

“I mean, even if it’s his old cat, Adrien moved away a while back. I think he’d be happy to know that someone was taking good care of the fuzzball, but I was just curious.”

“Oh, um. Yeah. Okay. That would be fine, I think Chloé’s coming up too since Chat really seemed to like her earlier.” Marinette glanced over at Chloé, who was currently pressed against the window morosely. She met Marinette’s eyes and nodded slightly at the unspoken request.

“Okay then. Let’s go meet Chat Noir then, Nino.”


	12. Explanations

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nino and Chloé have some explaining to do, Marinette is suspicious.

Marinette fidgeted with her keys as she, Nino, and Chloé climbed the stairs up to her apartment. She’d already cleared her throat three times as they approached the building and although she wanted to do it again, she didn’t want to seem too nervous. She’d already told Nino it would be fine to meet Chat, but as they had pulled up she remembered how Chat reacted to Luka and how she still wasn’t sure if it was due to Chat having a preferred gender near him. Nino glanced at her several times as they neared the door, but Chloé seemed too distracted and kept checking her phone every couple of seconds. 

Mari got the key in the lock on the second try and cracked the door slightly. “Hey Chat? I’m coming in and I have two guests with me. If you want to meet them, come on out.”

“You’re talking to him?” Nino raised an eyebrow and Marinette shrugged as she pushed the door open fully. She stepped gingerly through the door and held it open for Chloé and Nino to enter behind her.

“Sure. Lots of people talk to their cats.” Mari threw her bag onto the counter and began checking under chairs for Chat.

Nino made a small noise that sounded like assent. “Does he talk back?”

Marinette straightened, an uncomfortable tingling at the back of her neck. Still, she allowed the anger at Chloé telling someone else about quirks that were _none of their business_ to color her tone when she finally managed to stop impersonating a fish and spit the words out. “Excuse me?”

“Does he talk-“

“I heard you the first time, did Chloé tell you that?” Marinette narrowed her eyes and glared at Chloé. Her friend hunched her shoulders and kept her eyes trained on her phone, tapping frantically and avoiding the glare as best she could.

Nino shrugged, shoving his hands into his pockets and fidgeting under the glare that she refocused onto him. “Yeah. She mentioned that he meows and you talk like you understand him.” 

Marinette’s eyes darted between the two of them quickly and she uselessly tried swallowing the lump forming in her throat. “I really don’t see how that’s any of your business. And it’s kind of a breach of trust, Chloé.” 

Chloé cleared her throat and glanced at Nino before pocketing her phone and looking at the floor. “I know. And I really am sorry, but I need Nino to confirm something for me.” 

“I don’t see how this cat having potentially belonged to your cousin can help anything.” Marinette spat.

“Adrien didn’t really have a cat. I lied.” Chloé hunched further into herself, still refusing to make eye contact. 

Nino grabbed at Chloé’s arm. “Chlo, you can’t-“ 

“I’ve known her for a really long time and if anyone is trustworthy it’s her.” 

Chloé and Nino held their positions, neither looking away from the other. Their eyes spoke volumes, but in languages she couldn’t possibly interpret and as a direct result Mari’s shoes became increasingly fascinating. Marinette shifted on the balls of her feet, growing increasingly nervous as they ignored her presence. She looked around the room for anything out of place, Chat wandering around, anything to draw her attention from the silent confrontation happening in her living room.

There were several feathered toys lying on the couch, and the one with the orange and purple feathers was ripped to pieces. Marinette moved slightly, gauging the reaction to see if the two were even really paying attention to her. When they continued to ignore her, Mari gathered the shredded toy pieces into her palm and dumped them into the trash. She rubbed the bridge of her nose and her temples briefly before making a decision to end the stalemate herself. 

“Okay, can you just tell me what’s going on? It’s really late and I want to sleep and I really don’t have the patience for _whatever_ is happening here right now.” 

Chloé and Nino jumped slightly, as if only now noticing she was still present and looked away from the other. Chloé rubbed her neck and shuffled her feet slightly as she glanced over at Nino, poking him with a foot when he didn’t speak. He glared at Chloé, and then her foot, before sighing heavily. 

Finally he responded. “I’m not okay with this. We don’t have the authority to explain this to her.” After a quick look at Marinette, he ducked his head and hid his face behind the brim of the hat he’d donned upon leaving the club. 

Chloé drew a deep breath in and chose to meet Marinette’s eyes since they’d entered the apartment together. “Okay. Not everything then. I’m really sorry, Mari, but if I tell you everything about this situation, I’m going to be in a _ton_ of trouble with my mom.” 

“Not like you haven’t been in the past,” Marinette snorted. 

“Yeah, not like this.” Chloé swallowed thickly, eyes twitching like she wanted to look away again, but she maintained eye contact. “This is important, and secret, and I’ve never been allowed to tell _anyone_ about it. So I can give you some basics here and then... Then I’ll have to talk to my mom and see where we stand.” 

The way Chloé met her eyes, brows knit and hands clasped in front of her, caused Marinette’s mood to sober instantly. Chloé didn’t do serious. She was dramatic, extra, larger-than-life, but never truly _serious_. Behind her, Nino took his hat off and rubbed at his scalp roughly. He began to pace in tight circles and it occurred to Marinette that she’d never seen two people more anxious in her life. _And I’m probably the most anxious person **in** my life. _ 

“Okay.” 

“Okay?” Chloé’s lips pursed and her delicate eyebrows folded inward further. 

“Yeah. Tell me what you can and leave out what you can’t. I trust you, most of the time. What’s going on?” Marinette lifted her head, straightening her back and hoping that the slight added height would give her the perceived authority to help Chloé and Nino to relax enough to talk to her instead of fidgeting all around her home. 

Chloé nodded, only a little too quickly. “Where do you want me to start?” 

“Why are you so interested in my cat? And you already told me your cousin didn’t have a cat, so you can toss that one out right now.” 

“He looks like Adrien.” Chloé blurted out, almost cutting Marinette off while she spoke. 

“Oh, and I thought _I_ was a bean short of a cappuccino. He’s a cat, Chloé, sometimes they look like their owners.” 

Chloé threw her hands in the air and made a noise halfway between a growl and a groan, “Mari _nette,_ Adrien didn’t have a cat! I’m trying to say I think he _is_ Adrien!” 

Marinette blinked and unconsciously took a step backwards, grimacing slightly at the outburst. Chloé started to follow before Nino grabbed her arm. He motioned toward Marinette with his eyes and tilted his head slightly before Chloé took a longer look at Mari. She flattened her lips before yanking her arm away from Nino and folding them across her chest. 

Marinette’s eyes darted between the two of them, Chloé’s old history of playing tricks on her the year before she finally stopped being terrible flashing in the back of her mind. “This...” She swallowed before continuing, “This is a trick, right? You’re both messing with me? Trying to fool me into thinking something stupid before you jump out and yell “Gotcha” or something, yeah?” 

Chloé’s shoulders slumped and she buried her face in her palms. When she lifted her head, desperation had welled up in her eyes alongside tears that she wouldn’t shed under normal circumstances. Marinette covered her mouth with one hand, heart thumping and mind racing. The last time she’d seen Chloé cry had been _years_ ago, back when her parents had split up.

_This isn’t a trick._

She tried to swallow, but found her throat too dry to successfully manage. Licking her lips, Mari whispered meekly, “I don’t understand.” 

“Okay, um. So it’s not that he _physically_ looks like Adrien,” Chloé began, wringing her hands in front of her. “It’s that your cat looks like there’s magic on him.” 

Marinette’s mouth moved, but the only sounds she could manage were insensible and confused.

“Yeah, I know how it sounds,” Chloé snapped, irritation clouding her voice. She scrubbed at her eyes with the back of her hand before pressing her palms together and looking toward Nino pleadingly. He huffed and rolled his eyes, but stepped slightly in front of Chloé. 

“So magic exists and we can both use it, and there’s others like us. Adrien is like us. And he’s missing. He’s been missing for a really long time now. But your cat has magic on it that looks like _his magic,_ so _please_ let me just look at your cat so I can tell if it’s Adrien or if Chloé is mistaken.

Marinette moved back another step and slid into one of her tall dining chairs, grateful that she didn’t have to drop far to end up seated. She watched Nino’s face run the gamut from irritated pleading to desperation when she didn’t respond. Chloé’s makeup had started running when her eyes teared up again, and mascara had begun to track down her cheeks. The stunned stoicism Marinette had adopted at Nino’s frankly _insane_ statement cracked as she watched her calm, collected friend cry helplessly. 

She leaned back into the back of the chair. Whether trying to ground herself or move further from the situation, she used the opportunity to think through the issue. 

 

_Chloé either just now lied to me **or** she’s been lying for years. _

 

 ** _She said there was a good reason. She’d be in a lot of trouble if she told anyone about this._** ****

 

_She’s telling me that her cousin got turned into a cat._

 

**_My cat, that acts far too human for a cat. He’s too perceptive. He talks._ **

 

_That’s not a sign that he’s actually a person._

 

 ** _He has opinions on fashion. He’s been advising me on things. HE TALKS._ **

 

 _Okay, so he could definitely be a person. That’s beside the point. Do I let them see Chat? Are they lying now? Are they hunting him? Will they hurt him?_  

 

Marinette raised her head from where she’d dropped it onto her palm when she began to talk to herself. “Say I believe you.” 

Chloé made an excited chirp and started forward with her arms stretched out invitingly only to stop with a frown when Mari held her hand up. “What is it?” 

“Say I actually do believe you. What guarantee do I have that you’re not lying now? You’ve either lied for the entire time I’ve known you or you lied to me right now. If you lied to me now, why do you want Chat? Are you planning to hurt him? And if you’ve been lying to me since we were kids, do I even really know who you are? _How can I trust you, Chloé?”_ Marinette spat the final sentence out with far more venom than she’d intended, fatigue and betrayal fueling her response. 

Chloé wilted. She began to cry again, the tears silently running down her face and soaking into her shirt. When she spoke, her words came out as sobs, gasping for air. “I’m _so sorry,_ Marinette. I never wanted to lie to you about this, but I _couldn’t_ tell you. Even now I’m banking on Chat being Adrien because finding him is the only thing that could justify my telling you this.” 

“How do I know you’re not using magic on me if you really are wizards or whatever?” Mari willed herself to stay strong and not allow Chloé’s uncharacteristic emotional response to push her into forgiving her too soon for her deception. 

“Because we can’t.” Marinette yanked her head over to meet Nino’s eyes, glaring at him as angrily as she could manage. “We aren’t that kind of magic users. I can only do anything when I have music playing, and even then all I can do is make you feel things. Mom calls it empathic projection, but it stops the second you’re not listening to me play. So the fact that we’re here, in _your_ home and with no music playing means that I’m not doing anything to you. And no offense to Chloé, but she’s _super_ weak and can’t really do anything very long lasting with her magic.”

Chloé sniffled pitifully, “My variety of magic is enchanting, and I’m mostly good at making business deals seem really attractive. It’s not good on people themselves really, I have to use it on objects. That’s why I keep insisting Alya get us a deal on paper instead of digitally, because I can imbue the page with enough magic that it makes people _want_ something. Mom is a lot better at it than I am, and I am _pretty sure_ she enchants all of her runway items. But it’s influence, not control. It breaks if the person doesn’t already want the thing or if it goes against their morals.” 

Marinette raised an eyebrow, still skeptical. “I’m having a _really_ hard time thinking you two still aren’t lying to me, here.” 

“I know it’s a lot to take in, but really all we need from you is to see your cat. I’m only letting Chloé tell you all this because you weren’t looking like you’d let me meet him and Chloé can’t positively identify him.” Nino stepped forward, face stern and serious.

Marinette found herself intimidated by the motion for a moment before forcibly pushing the anxious tendency down. Heart pounding once more, she rose from her chair stiffly. She stepped directly in front of Nino, staring up at him from her significantly shorter stature and meeting his eyes without any further hesitation. Mari straightened her back, watching Nino fidget as she maintained eye contact without speaking to him. 

“No.” She spoke quietly, but using a tone that conveyed as much absolute _unwillingness_ to comply as she was capable of. 

“Excuse me?” Nino leaned back slightly, fidgeting before jamming both hands in his pockets. 

“You heard me. I’m not going to give you anything. I don’t trust you. If Chat isn’t really a cat and he _is_ a person? He can tell me that himself and _he_ can ask to see you. I’ve got your number, so I’ll be in touch if he asks. Otherwise, please leave right now.” Marinette folded her arms across her chest, glaring and setting her jaw. 

“I’m not-“ He looked over at Chloé, hands held out as if expecting her help, but Chloé simply grimaced and shook her head. “You don’t have my number.” 

“I have Chloé’s. Have a good night.” 

Nino glanced between the two of them several more times before growling angrily and storming out of the apartment, slamming the door in the process. Chloé stayed put, shifting from foot to foot as she stood in Marinette’s living room. 

“Mari, I-“ 

“Good _night,_ Chloé.” 

Chloé jumped, looking startled before her face fell and she dropped her eyes to the floor. “Good night Marinette.” The silence that rushed in to fill the void from her departure was almost deafening. Numbness seeped into Marinette’s skin. There was no pain. Only the pressure around her heart that had started when she realized the extent of the betrayal she’d just experienced from one of her best friends. She only made it halfway to the floor before the tears began.  


	13. Human

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Despite feeling betrayed by Chloe’s confession, Marinette needs some answers from Chat.

“Mrr?” Marinette pried her bleary eyes open, struggling to free them from the exhaustion induced sleep she’d fallen into after crying for the better part of an hour. At some point she’d managed to lock the front door behind Chloé and Nino.

 _Apparently I made it to the couch._ Marinette sat up and braced herself on the arm of the couch, dislodging the pillow she’d been clutching to her chest.

A low rumble from near the floor drew her attention and Marinette rubbed at her eyes for a moment before registering Chat, ears low and shoulders almost touching the ground. She grimaced at the black smears on her palms from her eyeliner before focusing on her cat trying to melt into the floor. She tilted her head to catch Chat’s eyes. He studiously avoided Marinette’s eyes, and she drew a breath in shakily.

Marinette allowed her tone to lose all inflection, too drained for tact. “Were they telling the truth?”

Chat’s eyes finally met hers, unwavering in how steady he held. **Yes.**

“So you’re human then.” She swallowed, further irritating her scratchy throat and setting off a coughing fit that took several moments to calm. Chat made a motion that looked like he wanted to move closer to her. He settled on twitching his tail agitatedly instead.

**Yes.**

“You know, it would be _fantastic_ if you could just _talk to me,_ then!” Her voice was far too ragged for how loud and high her shout was, cracking painfully. She choked back the angry tears forming in her eyes. Marinette glared angrily at Chat, wracking her brain for any solution that might help the situation.

 **Yes.** Chat raised his head and lifted his ears. His tail was still flicking back and forth, but he no longer seemed cowed. He met Marinette’s glare with his jaw firmly set.

Marinette sighed and stood up, pacing the living room. She cracked several knuckles in an attempt to work out the nervous energy infesting her body. Her skin felt tingly and warm, and she was reminded of the summer she’d sunburned her entire upper body and back. Rubbing at her arms didn’t even provide the momentary sting to relieve the itch this time, though. Chat stayed sitting in place, watching Marinette pace the floor.

Marinette stopped in front of him, staring down before dropping to the floor. She arranged her legs comfortably so she could lean forward into his space. Chat sat taller, tail straight on the floor. After a moment or two, Marinette nodded at him.

“Okay. Are they dangerous?”

 **Yes.** Chat’s tail flicked once and he opened his mouth after answering, closing it again quickly.

Marinette frowned. _So he had something to say about it then. Maybe..._

“Are they going to hurt us?”

**No.**

She nodded, pleased with the response. _At least I know Chloé a little bit then._

“Are they right? Are you Chloé’s cousin?” She met his eyes, craning her head to stay in his eye line as he tried to look away.

After a moment he answered. **Yes.**

“Huh. Guess I should be calling you Adrien, then.”

**No!**

Marinette jumped, startled by the snarl that accompanied Chat’s response. She leaned back as far as she could without falling over, wide-eyed with concern. Chat’s teeth were bared in an aggressive grimace, and he’d leapt to his feet. His fur was on end as he glared furiously back at Marinette.

Marinette’s mouth worked fruitlessly for a moment before she whispered back. “Okay.”

Chat instantly relaxed, slumping back into his position on the floor. Marinette watched him curiously. Her heart was pounding at the sudden adrenaline and she moved her hand from where she’d pressed it to her chest.

“Do you not want to be found, Chat?”

Chat’s ears pinned to his head once more, and he sniffed the air once. **No.**

“I could be more help if you could tell me why, you know.”

 **Yes.** Another sniff.

Marinette ran her fingers through her hair, ripping the tie out of her bun and wrapping it around her wrist. She combed her hair absently, wincing every time she hit a tangle.

She paused with a hand halfway through her hair, an idea forming. “Hey, you can’t type, can you? I can get a word document up or something and you could respond to me.”

Chat blinked at her, slowly and without an ounce of expression. He slowly lifted a paw before dropping it onto Marinette’s hand. She lifted his paw into her palm and massaged at the toe beans underneath until Chat yanked his limb back, maximum offense in every fiber of his being. Marinette smiled, saccharine-sweet.

“Well? Can you type?”

Chat wrinkled his nose and leaned forward slowly, lower jaw jutting out dramatically. **No.**

“Good, thank you for the communication. I appreciate the clear response.” She grinned and lifted one eyebrow. Chat grumbled lightly in response, as if objecting to the sarcasm.

“If you hadn’t been a smart-ass, I wouldn’t have been sarcastic back at you.” Chat rumbled again, noncommittal.

“Okay, so I’ll figure something else out. Maybe a board or something so you can construct sentences. In the meantime, let’s get the urgent stuff out of the way. Do you want to see Chloé and Nino?”

**Yes no.**

“Okay, I’ll have to ask why later then. I’m gonna go ahead and stick with no until you explain that one.”

 **Yes.** Chat nodded, clearly pleased with the interpretation. His ears had lifted again and Marinette noted that his tail no longer twitched unhappily.

“Did you run away?”

 **Yes no.** The ears dropped back down and Marinette threw her hands up, annoyed and defeated.

“Come on, Chat, you can’t keep telling me non-answers here. You either did or you didn’t run away! Did something happen to you?”

**Yes.**

“Okay, great, _thank you_ for actually answering that one.” She narrowed her eyes again, huffing lightly as she did.

“Do you want to be a _cat_ forever?!” Marinette dropped her hands heavily into her lap and threw her head back against the couch cushion.

**...Yes.**

“What. Seriously?” She stared at Chat, stunned into silence. He’d sounded hesitant, but his shoulders were relaxed and tail curved high. She couldn’t imagine he was unsure about the statement.

“Have you actually been a cat for more than a year?”

Chat dropped his eyes to stare at the floor for several moments. The itchy feeling skittered across Marinette’s skin once more, but she held herself still to wait for his answer. Chat lifted his head steadily, looking resolutely into Marinette’s eyes before responding.

**Yes.**

“Were you hiding all that time?” Marinette’s voice had dropped to a whisper, hoarse and pained.

**No.**

“Right, yeah, okay. You said something happened.” Marinette cleared her throat, but the lump that had formed from the earlier coughing fit didn’t seem to want to move. “Did it happen after becoming a cat?”

 **Yes.** Chat lifted a paw and started licking at it vigorously. Marinette tilted her head and watched.

 _If I didn’t know better, I’d say he’s physically trying to remove the memory of it with how aggressive he’s being._ She ran her hand down her face, ignoring how much makeup joined the smears on her hands.

“Hey, Chat?”

Chat’s ears perked up as he stopped grooming his paw mid-lick. He dropped the paw back to the floor, raising his head to wait for the next question.

“Did you turn yourself into a cat? I mean, Nino said you can do magic too, but they didn’t really tell me what kind of magic _you_ do, so. I guess I just kind of wondered if turning yourself into a cat is a thing you just _do.”_

Chat dropped his paws to the floor and rested his head on them, pushing his lower lip out. He made no move to respond to the question and Marinette chewed on the inside of her cheek for a moment.

“Did I ask too much in one question?”

**Yes.**

She sighed heavily, rolling her eyes. “Fine. Can you turn yourself into a cat?”

Chat’s head came back up and he stretched his front legs as he responded in the affirmative.

“Okay, and did you?” Marinette reached a hand out to Chat, waiting for him to make a move to let her know it was okay to pet his head. He pressed the crown of his head into her hand and walked forward slowly. Mari giggled as the fluff rubbed against her palm.

 **No.** Chat sat in front of her again and tilted his head slightly.

“Alright, did someone else?”

Chat rushed forward to press his face into Marinette’s, meowing excitedly. Marinette burst into laughter and fell backwards, raising her arms to wrap around Chat and steady his descent.

“Yeah, I’m gonna take that as a yes.” She giggled again as Chat confirmed, rubbing his fuzzy cheek on hers.

“Okay, so can Chloé turn you back into a human?”

 **No.** Chat sat back, resting on Marinette’s stomach while she remained lying on the floor. She considered getting up before shaking her head slightly and slipping both arms under her head.

“I bet she knows someone who can though, yes?” Marinette glanced at Chat as well as she could from her spot on the floor, and smirked slightly when his shoulders slipped down a bit.

**Yes.**

“Don’t worry, we’ve already determined you kind of want to stay fluffy. I’ll ask why later.” Her eyebrows drew together as a thought occurred. “Hey, will you actually tell me if I do ask?”

Chat turned his head to look away before slowly answering yes. Marinette raised an arm to scratch under Chat’s chin and he leaned into her touch gently. She continued to scratch at his fur for several more moments before checking the time and grimacing.

“Hey, kitten, it’s time for bed. I’m too tired to keep this up for too long, I’ll just pass out on the floor.”

 **Yes.** Chat licked her cheek briefly and Marinette chuckled before sitting up slowly.

“Yeah, very cute, I’m not sleeping on the floor. Come on, we can keep talking while I wash all _this_ off my face.” Marinette gestured to her entire face with an amused lift of her eyebrows. She stood and walked to the bathroom, trusting Chat would follow. He leapt onto the counter as they entered the room and Marinette quickly fished her makeup wipes out from under the counter.

She scrubbed at her face while Chat watched patiently. When the majority of the smears had been cleared from her face and hands, Marinette leaned against the counter to think about the next question.

“So am I right if I think you don’t want to talk to Chloé and Nino?”

 **Yes no.** Chat’s eyes narrowed a bit and Marinette sighed.

“Fine, I’ll file that one with the others, then. Were you trying to trick me?” Marinette carefully lowered her eyebrows, trying to ensure that she didn’t react if he answered that he _was_ in fact, lying to her intentionally all this time. It would hurt less than Chloé lying to her for years, but it would still hurt. She’d certainly felt betrayed and blindsided enough today, but she still felt the need to _know._

 **No!** Chat skidded across the counter top, nuzzling into her stomach and purring quietly in distress. Marinette relaxed, lowering her shoulders and smiling in teary relief. She bent to lift Chat into her arms and he coiled his tail around one wrist.

As she walked into the bedroom with him, she rubbed her cheek on the top of his head. “I get how you can’t say, ‘Hey, Marinette, I’m a person and not actually a cat’, but did you try to hide it from me?”

**Yes no.**

“So yes because you didn’t try to tell me?”

**Yes.**

“But no because you weren’t trying to hide it?”

**Yes.**

“Okay, I can live with that.” Marinette gently deposited Chat on his pillow and went to rummage in her dresser for nightclothes.

Chat meowed hesitantly and she felt her face warm at the memory of him seeing her change earlier tonight. Even as her face turned a brighter shade of red, she began to cackle madly.

“Oh my god, Chat, I undressed in front of you and you freaking _ran!_ Holy crap, no wonder you were uncomfortable!” She doubled over in laughter, almost in tears at the realization.

Chat buried his head under both paws and emitted a long, drawn out yowl that sounded remarkably like despair.

Still cackling, Marinette slipped into the bathroom to change quickly. She flung the door open when she was done, depositing her dirty clothes in her hamper. She dropped onto the bed next to Chat. He peeked one eye out from under his paws and she grinned at him.

It still felt awful that one of her best friends had been lying to her for years. But at least she still had Chat. _A gentleman cat if I’ve ever met one. But that absolutely does not mean I’m not going to give him crap for having slept in my bed for months._

“Ready for bed, Kitten?”

 **Yes.** Chat raised his head and circled his pillow before settling on it comfortably.

Marinette tapped her finger to her lips, making a show of thinking. “I dunno kitty cat, I know you’re actually a person now, I’m not sure I’m comfortable with you sleeping in my bed after sneaking into it for months. Kind of sketchy behavior, don’t you think?”

Chat’s ears flattened and his tail dropped before he slowly raised to his feet and began to slink off the bed. Marinette, expecting sass of some sort, remained stunned and motionless before lunging forward to catch Chat around his middle. She dragged him back to his pillow as he gave a startled screech.

“Get back here, you dumb cat, I was joking.”

Marinette dropped her head to her own pillow, eye-to-eye with Chat. His bright green eyes showed only confusion and shock. Marinette smiled, delighted by how sweet he was to have just _accepted_ getting kicked out of the bed.

“Go to sleep Chat. I’ll make you a word board to point at in the morning.” She kissed his head lightly and leaned back into the pillow once more. Just as she drifted off, she felt the press of a cold nose to her own and a furry body snuggling into her arms.


	14. Word Chart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Marinette and Chat create a word chart to help their communication.

“Okay Chat, what do we need it to say? I don’t need yes or no, since we’ve got an established pattern there. How about “I don’t want to talk about it? Is that something you need?” Marinette tapped a pencil to her lips absently as she babbled to Chat.

She’d spent a portion of her morning sitting at her kitchen counter and listing words and phrases she thought might be helpful. She’d been struggling to think of what a cat-boy might need to say. It only occurred to her after the fact that actually _asking_ Chat what words he thought he’d need would probably be even more important in constructing a word board for him.

 **Yes.** Chat rubbed his head along Marinette’s elbow, jostling the word she was in the middle of writing. She glared at him good-naturedly and scratched gently behind his ears before returning to her list.

“I’ve got ‘I need’, ‘I want’, and ‘please’, are those okay as well?”

**Yes. Yes. Yes.**

“Since Chloe is related to you, and you know Nino, I also put both of them on the list. Plus ‘mother’ and father’, so you can tell me if there’s a family member you need me to know about.” She paused for a moment, allowing Chat the time to object if he wanted to. He didn’t respond other than watching her intently, however, so she moved on.

“Magic, of course. Even if Chloe won’t tell me what’s going on, I’m sure there’s _something_ more you can tell me.” Marinette glanced at Chat, noting his ears had drooped a bit before he meowed a quiet ‘yes’.

“‘Ran away’, since you ran away. ‘Because’ since you told me you’d give me answers to some things. ‘Scared’? ‘Mad’? I have no idea why you ran away, Chat. How am I supposed to come up with a board of things for you to answer when it could be anything?” Marinette folded forward, thumping her head roughly onto her arms. She huffed into her arms when she felt Chat’s head nuzzle the back of hers.

“I don’t even know, Kitty. Maybe this was a dumb idea.”

 **No!** Chat pushed his head in under Marinette’s arms, repeatedly poking his nose into her cheek until Marinette giggled and raised her head.

“Fine. It was a good idea.”

**Yes.**

“But I still don’t know what to put down.”

Chat’s ears dropped again and he meowed back at her. Marinette brushed her hand down Chat’s back gently. She chewed the end of her pencil, staring at the page and hoping the rest of the list might write itself.

“A bunch of emotions then. That’s a good bet. All the ‘happy’ and ‘sad’ and ‘frustrated’ description words you could want. Yeah?”

 **Yes.** The affirmation was accompanied by another head nuzzle to her arm and Marinette grinned down at Chat.

“Then we’ve got stuff like ‘tired’, I’ll put ‘work’- Wait, do you have a job?”

**Yes.**

“‘Work’ is good then. ‘Home’ too. For wherever you were living.”

**No.**

Marinette paused, confused. She lifted the pencil from her page and frowned at Chat but his tail simply twitched.

Finally she was able to spit out a bewildered “No?”

 **No.** He lifted a paw, licking at it delicately.

Marinette sighed, resigning herself to the barrage of questions she’d have to use in order to sort through this. _At least he’s not saying ‘yes no’ right now._

“Were you homeless, Chat?”

The paw dropped, and Chat sat up calmly to watch Marinette. **No.**

“Did...Were you living alone?”

**No.**

“Were you living with roommates? Or one roommate.”

 **No.** Chat huffed lightly and yawned, shimmying slightly on the counter top.

“Parents?”

Chat’s ears pinned to his head and Marinette knew what the answer would be even before he answered. His tail flicked in agitation and Mari tilted her head curiously.

  **Yes.**

“But that’s not home?”

**No.**

“Oh. I guess I need to take that word off then-“ Marinette moved to cross the word off her list.

 **No!** Chat rushed forward, knocking the pencil from Marinette’s hand and aggressively pushing on her hands as she tried to calm him. He pressed forward, shoving his head against her.

Marinette finally relented, settling Chat onto her lap and stroking her hand along his back. He purred loudly, clearly pleased to have her attention. “Chat, if you didn’t consider your old house your home, why do you want it on the board? You don’t need it if you don’t have ‘home’ somewhere.”

Chat looked up at Marinette, blinking slowly at her. Mari drew a deep breath in, watching the acid green disappear and return while waiting for a response of some sort. After a moment or two he let out a long, low rumble before pressing his head firmly and meaningfully toward her stomach. Chat sat back to repeat his slow blink and nuzzle again as it finally dawned on Marinette what he was telling her.

“Oh. You mean _here.”_

 **Yes.** Chat licked at her hand.

Marinette smiled, touched that he considered their apartment a real _home._ “Then I’ll leave it on the list.”

She picked her pencil back up from where it had fallen, bouncing the broken tip against the page. “What else, Kitten? Maybe a ‘don’t’ since I have ‘want’?”

**Yes.**

“‘Good’, and ‘bad’, and for the love of everything, you can read. Get over here, I don’t need to read everything off this list. Just point to anything you don’t want on the list for now.” Marinette massaged at her temples, trying to stave off the annoyance that sprang to life when she realized how inefficient her previous method was.

Chat tilted his head, and Marinette gave him a couple of moments to object to anything he needed to. When he sat back and licked his nose while maintaining eye contact, she felt an amused little smile lift her lips.

“All good?”

**Yes.**

“Then I’ll just leave a few blank spaces and I’ll be able to add to it when we’re using the thing. I’m sure we’ll think of something we missed the first time through.” Marinette lifted the page in front of her face, squinting at the now substantial list. She rolled her shoulders back before dropping the pencil to the counter and standing.

Marinette stretched her back out with her arms above her head. She reached into a nearby drawer, pulling a fat marker out of it, and heading to the hall closet for a large piece of paper.

She grabbed her roll of utility paper that she usually used for copying clothing patterns and set it on the living room floor. Mari kicked the roll slightly to start it moving before spinning back around to grab tape from the same closet.

Chat jumped down from the counter top, seating himself nearby to watch Marinette work on the project. She taped the short end of the paper down to the floor and rolled the tube away from herself.

It stopped several feet away and at a funny angle to the already taped end, but Marinette busied herself with beginning to smooth and tape the part of the longer ends closest to her down to the floor. Chat sat patiently, flicking his tail slowly back and forth.

Marinette scrambled back to her feet, muttering about having forgotten scissors, and retrieved her list from the counter as well. She settled back in front of the paper, cutting the end attached to the roll and taping the final side down. She laid on her stomach to begin transcribing the words over to the page in large letters. She hummed with a smile when Chat snuggled into her side.

When all the words were listed in a way that satisfied Marinette, she reached over to gently move Chat away from her body so she could sit up. He made a noise somewhere between groaning and purring, encouraging a grin to steal across Mari’s face.

“Kitten, it’s done.”

Chat’s head popped up, his ears and tail both at attention as he let out a little mew. He took in the page, glancing from word to word. The meows he responded with were loud, almost excited chirp. All four of his paws shuffled around, too eager to stay put. Marinette’s grin softened into a smile. She crossed her legs, shifting to rest her palms behind her back.

“Want to use it now?”

**Yes!**

“Why did you run away?”

Chat’s ears fell immediately and Marinette sighed as quietly as she could. _Never said I’d ask **pleasant** questions. _

“You’ve got the ‘don’t want to answer’ response, if you want it.” Marinette crossed her fingers mentally, hoping he would be willing to answer.

She watched as Chat stood, padding over to the emotions area. He placed his left paw on the ‘mad’ section before going to ‘frustrated’ and ‘overwhelmed’. She nodded.

“With anything in particular?”

Chat hesitated, and she could swear he visibly flinched at the question. But he stood again, setting his paw on ‘magic’ and ‘father’ before sitting in front of Marinette and staring forward, tail swishing behind him harshly. Marinette reached out to scratch at Chat’s head, and he drew closer to allow her to comfort him.

“I’m sorry, Chat. That matches up with how you don’t consider that _home_ , too. Nobody should feel like their house isn’t home.” She pressed her forehead to Chat’s for a brief moment before dropping a kiss between his ears. “But I’m glad you found a home here. You’re always welcome with me.”

Chat’s ears perked up the moment Marinette kissed his head, but his mouth simply dropped open slightly when she spoke. He stared intently into her eyes for a moment before rubbing his head on her cheek.

“You’re welcome, Kitten.”

They sat for a moment, Marinette gently brushing her hands through Chat’s fur. He purred as she did, content to sit quietly with her. Marinette gave his ears one last scratch before sitting back up.

“Next question. Why don’t you want to be called Adrien?”

Chat looked over the board again, walking to the ‘scared’ section and tapping at it.

“Scared? Why? Your father?”

Chat responded with a ‘no’ before wandering over the page to the ‘something happened’ section, the one Marinette had added because she couldn’t figure out how to ask for details on the event earlier.

“And the something that happened is why you were so aggressive at the shelter, right? You didn’t want to be adopted?”

 **Yes.** Chat agreed enthusiastically, seeming pleased with her deductions so far.

“Are you avoiding a person then? A specific person?”

 **Yes!** His tail stood at attention and Marinette pushed forward, encouraged by the response.

“Do you know them, then?”

His tail dropped. **No.**

“Crap. Of course it couldn’t be that easy.” Chat pressed his face into Marinette’s arm in a reassuring little nudge and she smiled down at him.

“Oh well. Can’t be helped.”

Marinette glanced down at Chat, and stilled for a moment to watch him sit. He didn’t seem agitated, but his tail was moving in twitchy little motions. His ears were half-raised and Marinette gnawed at the inside of her cheek. _Maybe I should pick a lighter topic to give him a break for a minute._

“Hey, can you tell me why you don’t like that lilac dress? I appreciate you not shredding it, but you being a human just raises more questions about how you reacted before.”

Chat’s ears drooped again and Marinette’s stomach fell. _I thought that would be better but I guess I’m just going to stress him out all over the place today. I just keep screwing this up._

She sighed heavily and opened her mouth to tell Chat he didn’t have to respond to the question, when he walked over to the emotions section once more to tap ‘mad’ and ‘frustrated’.

“Can you tell me why you’re mad and frustrated?”

Chat set a paw on ‘father’, but sat back down and let out a short no in response. Marinette sighed again, a little less heavily this time.

“Something to do with your dad, but you can’t tell me? Or maybe can’t explain yet?”

**Yes.**

Marinette pouted. “Frustrating.”

**Yes.**

Marinette shifted her position on the floor so she was sitting cross-legged. She reached her arms out as far as they could go, stretching her back muscles. She winced a little at the twinge in the right side of her neck.

Knowing that she cricked her neck every time she worked while laying on the floor didn’t actually keep her from doing it, but she regretted the action momentarily every time she did.

Rising to her feet, Marinette walked back to the kitchen. She dropped the marker into its’ drawer before pulling Chat’s brush from the next one over. She settled herself onto the chair comfortably and Chat dropped into her lap within seconds. Marinette scratched his head lightly. She picked up the remote, turning it on and locating one of the shows she and Chat both liked to watch.

Marinette watched the cooks piecing together a large, elaborate meal before tilting her head and looking down at Chat. He was watching the TV intently, his tail swishing. His tail picked up speed and flicked her in the stomach.

Marinette looked up to see a man plating a delicate looking chocolate disc that had been topped with an airbrushed design made of chocolate dots. She hummed as the man used tweezers to place a single chocolate covered espresso bean on top of a mound of nearby whipped cream and felt Chat’s tail flick her again.

She frowned lightly.

“Chat? If you’re a person that’s magically a cat, do I need to follow cat rules for feeding you? Your _body_ is still a cat right? So I should make sure I’m not giving you things like caffeine and chocolate even though you’re not actually a cat?”

Chat looked away from the TV, staring up at Marinette with his mouth open. He turned back to the TV before dropping to the floor with a near soundless thump. He walked to the word page and promptly sat by the ‘I don’t know’ section, tapping it with ears down and tail shifting leisurely behind him.

“You’ve turned into a cat before though, right?

**Yes.**

“So did you just never eat anything before, while you were a cat?”

His ears pinned down. **No.**

Marinette shrugged, leaning back into her chair and patting her lap. “Alright, I’m not gonna judge you. Not like I can say I know what it’s like to be a cat.”

Chat jumped back onto Marinette’s lap and settled in. She raised the brush, focusing on the tricky parts of Chat’s fur first. Chat’s purr rumbled out low and steady as she worked the brush along his fur as gently as possible.

Once Marinette reached the point where she could turn part of her attention away, she lifted her head once more to watch the show. She smiled a little bit, relishing how comfortable she felt in the moment. She dropped a quiet kiss to the back of Chat’s head.

“I’m glad you’re here, Chat.”

The rising volume of his purr was all she needed in return.


	15. Coffee Meeting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boutique crew meets up for coffee before checking on their chosen location. Marinette is very much not looking forward to speaking with Chloé.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’ve had this ready for a couple days now, but I wasn’t feeling up to posting anything with the news about RoseGardenTwilight passing away suddenly. She was the biggest catalyst in me posting any of my writing and one of the best humans I’ve ever met in my entire life. 
> 
> I’ll miss her so much. 
> 
> It’s not Adrienette, but I owe a part of all my writing to you, Carolyn. So the least I can do is dedicate this chapter to you today. Thank you for everything. I’m so grateful I got to know you. Goodbye for now, my friend. You were simply the best.

The sun warmed Marinette’s back and she couldn’t help humming lightly as she walked down the street toward a cafe on _Rue de Bretagne_. She tilted her head back, smiling at how much Chat would enjoy the warm day and wishing it had been reasonable to bring him with her today.

She glanced down at her phone periodically to make sure she was headed the right direction and noting how many storefronts were in the area. She’d chosen the cafe specifically because it was only a few blocks away from the location in _Les Marais_ that Alya and Chloé had finally settled on. It was only natural that she wouldn’t waste the time simply strolling, but utilize it for a bit of research as well.

_Lots of fine dining, not competition. Art galleries too, that will bring the crowds with a little extra cash flow, so that’s really nice. So far I like the area._

Marinette pushed the door to the cafe open. She allowed herself a minute to admire the precision of the red and black block lettering declaring the name of the shop before peering around the interior. Her eyes quickly locked onto the shelf lined with tea apparatus, drawn away from the intricate scrollwork of the counter. It wasn’t long before she managed to select a tea with a name that she wasn’t familiar with.

She smiled and waved at the man staffing the counter. Marinette held her cup carefully as she stepped back outside into the sunlight and selected a table where she could be seen when the other members of her party finally arrived.

Granted, she’d arrived a bit early to ensure she was the first one here. She wasn’t exactly _avoiding_ Chloé, but, well.

She wasn’t looking forward to the conversation she needed to have, either.

_She betrayed me, kept things from me_ kept swirling in her head every time Marinette thought about talking to Chloé. It was closely followed by _she didn’t do it to hurt me_ every time, resulting in a downward spiral of internal argument that got her absolutely nothing but frustration.

And Chat’s claws in her leg once he noticed she was starting to get a little too anxious about all of it.

Marinette shook her head fondly, still impressed by how in tune her kitty was with her moods. He always seemed to know how to shake her out of a funk. Whether she needed fuzzy snuggles or a sharp poke, he was more on top of it than anyone else she’d ever known.

Looking down into the cup of tea, Marinette blew across the top to cool it before taking a small sip. Her face brightened when she realized it was both the perfect temperature and required no sweetening.

The warm, sweet fragrance of cinnamon swirled around Marinette, reminding her of autumn with her parents. She sipped slowly at the tea in front of her and closed her eyes. Happy memories floated through the fragrance and she allowed herself to indulge in them briefly. Cinnamon always reminded her of the tart apples her father would pick specially for his hot apple salads each year, an item he never allowed on the menu.

It was something special, just for them.

Her mother didn’t appreciate the texture, so her father always made a batch for them to share, sitting at the small table in their apartment and chatting softly.

She cherished those moments.

Her father would ask if she was interested in any boys, and how her classes were going. Marinette would ask if any interesting customers came by and what they were wearing at the time. The conversation was only interrupted by bites of the softened apples and sweet oats, heavily spiced with cinnamon and nutmeg.

Setting the cup down, Marinette frowned. It had been a while since they’d had one of their special chats and they were probably overdue.

_I’ll have to call Papa and see if he has any tart apples available._

She opened her eyes, glancing around the little patio she’d chosen for its proximity to the location they had finally chosen for their shop. It was cute, and she liked the red lined umbrellas shielding her table from the sun. There were an unfortunate number of people taking pictures of their food and letting the meal get cold.

_But the tea selection is good,_ she mused while raising the cup for another sip. _I’ll have to remember it when we open._

She grinned as two women walked by arm-in-arm and chatting happily. They had a number of shopping bags on their arms and she took stock of the brands on each one. Alya had been right, there wasn’t too much competition in their specific style in the area. But the jewelry shops and beauty supply places nearby bode well for the local foot traffic.

Her grin rapidly faded when Chloé was the first of the group to join her, sliding into the seat opposite Marinette with shoulders slumped.

“ _Salut,_ Marinette.”

Marinette raised her brows as Chloé stared down at the table, avoiding looking at her. She raised her gaze slightly when Marinette cleared her throat, quickly glancing around the patio when their eyes met.

“ _Bonjour_ , Chloé. If you want coffee, you’ll have to order inside. They don’t do full service.”

Chloé jumped, a grin showing too much teeth to be genuine sliding onto her face. “Oh, I um. I’ll go in a minute.”

“I don’t want to talk about the other night, Chloé.” Marinette set her cup gently on the table, a faint click from the saucer the only sound.

Chloé finally looked Marinette in the eyes, and she noted the dark circles under Chloé’s makeup. The silvery bruised purple she’d chosen for her eyeshadow did a good job of pulling attention away from the swelling and redness, but it wasn’t enough for someone who had known her for as long as Marinette had.

“Okay. I’m gonna go order something.”

Chloé stood, pulling her wallet from her bag and slipping into the cafe quietly. Marinette buried her nose back in her cup, trying to recapture the peace she’d been feeling before Chloé showed up. She huffed a breath out and set the cup down loudly when that failed spectacularly.

_I feel like I’m being a jerk._

She leaned her head back on the chair to wait, trying to figure out what exactly to say to Chloé. It wasn’t a bad idea to ask a bit more about Adrien since he wasn’t able to answer all of the questions she had. She’d narrowed it down a little by the time Chloé dropped back into her chair with a coffee smelling strongly of hazelnuts and cream, but still struggled for a moment or two. She watched Chloé gingerly sip at the still-hot drink.

“Did Adrien get along with his father?”

Chloé sucked a breath in, bringing a large amount of her latte into her mouth at the same time. Marinette cringed, jumping up and hovering over Chloé while she sputtered and choked painfully.

She waited until Chloé stopped sounding like a dying animal to speak again, dropping her head to the table and trying to smother herself with her arms.

“Oh my god, I’m so sorry Chloé. I did not mean to do that.”

Chloé patted her head awkwardly before croaking a response. “It’s okay, I’m fine. You just said you didn’t want to talk so I wasn’t expecting it.”

She cleared her throat a couple of times and Marinette slowly raised her head from the table. She nodded while Chloé watched her warily, sliding her latte a little further away from herself for the moment.

“Yeah, I did say that. But I feel like I’m being rude by not talking about it at all.”

“You’re allowed to be upset, Marinette. I don’t fault you for that.”

Chloé circled the rim of her cup with one finger, studying the surface of the liquid. She worried her lower lip for a moment before dropping her hand to the table and looking back up at Marinette.

“I’m willing to talk about it if you are, but I’m not going to pressure you. I’ll wait as long as you need, Mari. You’re my friend. And I’m willing to wait for as long as I need to, so I can prove I’m still your friend too.”

Marinette’s shoulders dropped as a tension she didn’t realize she’d been carrying released. She hesitated before leaning forward and setting her hand gently on one of Chloé’s.

“You’re still my friend, Chloé. I’m mad, but you’re a good person. And a good friend. You’re just going to need to give me some time to fully trust you again.”

Chloé’s lip trembled and Marinette slid into the seat next to Chloé to give her an awkward hug. Chloé clutched at her back, shaking slightly. Marinette sat back, smiling at her friend and Chloé returned it slowly.

“Can I ask you about Adrien?”

Chloé’s eyes widened a bit, but she nodded enthusiastically.

“Okay, so how did he get along with his dad? Is there any reason he might have just run away?” Marinette dragged her cup closer to her new seat, deciding not to move back to her original position due to the sensitivity of the conversation.

Chloé hummed lightly before responding, “They had their moments. Gabriel is strict, very stern. And he puts a lot of pressure on Adrien because of their, um, position.”

Chloé looked around at the other cafe patrons and lowered her voice. “You know, magically. I can’t say more than that, but the Agreste family is well known.”

Marinette nodded understandingly. “No problem, I understand. Did they fight a lot or anything?”

“Well, yes. But not enough for him to leave, usually. Or if he did leave the house, he’d come find me or Nino. They were pretty inseparable.” Chloé smiled, a glazed look painting her features.

“But he didn’t?”

Chloé shook her head. “No. He was just gone one day. Gabriel doesn’t talk much about what happened, so it’s hard to say exactly when. But he was just there and then he wasn’t.”

“Well, that’s unhelpful.”

“Tell me about it.”

Both women raised their cups to sip at their drinks, allowing the sounds of the cafe and street nearby to filter in.

Marinette set her cup down, empty except for the dregs of her tea. She played with the handle for a moment before pushing it aside.

_She could still be lying. If I tell her he’s Adrien, she’ll know where to find him. But Chat said he didn’t want to **see** them, not that he didn’t want them to know. He trusts Chloé. So I can trust her with this much. _

“Chat says he’s Adrien.”

Chloé jumped, eyes widening dramatically. She leaned forward, well into Marinette’s personal space.

“Are you serious? How did he- what else did he say?” Her words strung together in her excitement and it took a moment for Marinette to sort through them. She shook her head, smiling a bit.

“Not much, he said that he doesn’t want to be called Adrien. And that he ran away, but that ‘something happened’ after that and he’s afraid.”

Chloé grabbed at both of Marinette’s hands with her own. “We can help!”

“He doesn’t seem to think so.”

Chloé’s smile dropped and her eyebrows pinched together. She put a hand to her mouth and rubbed at her face before Marinette poked her in the cheek.

“What?”

“You’re messing up your lipstick.”

“Ah crap. Thanks.” Chloé removed a makeup wipe from her bag and scrubbed at her mouth to remove the shade before standing up and grabbing her purse.

“I’m going to go fix this real quick, but can I ask you if you talked to Adrien about Nino yet? Can he meet him?”

“No, I didn’t ask him yet. Sorry. Also, he doesn’t want to be called Adrien, he’s Chat now.”

Chloé’s features twisted in confusion, but she nodded and walked into the cafe with more purpose in her steps than when she arrived.

“Were the two of you talking about Chloé’s cousin or your cat?” Lila’s incredulous tone sent Marinette into a fit of nervous giggles.

“I suppose out of context that sounded odd, didn’t it?”

Lila nodded, her eyebrows lifting in an amused little tilt as she grinned down at Marinette. “It definitely didn’t make a lot of sense.”

“Just an inside joke, nothing serious.” Marinette smiled brightly back at Lila and pushed the chair next to her out for Lila to sit.

“How _is_ your cat, has he destroyed anything yet?”

“Not a thing, he’s been doing great. That reminds me though, I’ll need you to drop by for a final fitting sometime in the next week. Do you have a day available? I’ll only need about an hour of your time.” Marinette dug her planner out of her bag and slid it toward Lila as the other woman gracefully accepted the seat next to her.

“Thursday looks good, I can do three in the afternoon if that works.”

“It’s perfect, thanks Lila.” Marinette scrawled the time into her book and set it aside.

“And I suppose I’ll get to see this infamous cat of yours,” Lila teased with a smile, prompting Marinette to giggle once again.

“I guess you will! It all depends on if he’s willing to come out, but he’ll certainly be around.”

Marinette stretched her arms overhead as Lila checked something on her phone. She tapped several things out before slipping it back into her bag and looking around curiously.

“Where is the server? I’ve been here for long enough that they should have come out by now.”

“Oh, it’s not full service, you have to go inside.” Marinette continued stretching, tilting her head from side to side. Lila rolled her eyes and scoffed.

“Goodness, that’s a shame! They should _really_ put up some signs or something. I can’t even imagine how much foot traffic they’re losing out on by not checking in on valuable customers.”

Marinette rolled her own eyes, but chose not to respond to the remark. Unfortunately, Lila seemed to take it as encouragement.

“You know, it’s probably not the best idea to set up shop so close to a cafe that’s bound to fail because of their poor business practices.” Lila sat back in her chair and blinked expectantly at Marinette. Mari sighed.

“Lila, you gave up your vote on location. I appreciate your input, but I’m pretty sure the cafe is doing fine.” She gestured to the tables that had started to fill, light chatter beginning to rise up to a dull roar around them.

“Plus, our shop is a few streets down, it’s going to be okay.”

Marinette smiled at Lila, hoping she’d simply drop the topic. Lila returned the smile before playing with her phone once more. Marinette watched her absently for a few moments before frowning a bit as she thought of something.

“Hey, how do you know Chloé’s cousin’s name? I’ve never met him and I’ve known Chloé for a lot longer.”

“Oh, I’ve met him. He’s famous, you know. Models for his father’s clothing line. Shouldn’t you know that, don’t you follow Gabriel?” Lila shot Marinette a look and Marinette shrugged.

“I try not to. I’m in business with his niece. I don’t want us all to be overshadowed if my designs are somehow too similar to his or Audrey’s work.”

Lila nodded before standing. “I suppose I’ll go order something, though I hate to give business to such a lazy establishment. Want anything?”

“A green tea would be lovely, could you see if they have anything with coconut?”

Lila nodded and waved as she disappeared inside the building. She carried their mugs out, Alya arriving just in time to hold the door open before going to retrieve her own drink. It wasn’t long before all four women were seated at the table once again, chatting aimlessly.

Alya sipped at her mocha noisily, earning irritated glances from the patrons seated nearby and Marinette hid a grin behind her cup.

“God, why couldn’t we have done this at Monsieur Henri, it’s just right up the street,” Alya mock-sighed. Lila snorted and chuckled.

“They’re not even open until afternoon, Alya.” Lila poked Alya in the ribs. “Lush.”

Alya poked her back, “It’s never too early for a wine bar. Don’t pretend you aren’t game.”

Marinette threw a napkin at Alya, and poked her tongue out playfully when she got a glare in return. The three of them laughed loudly, only quieting their antics when the table next to them had finally had enough and shushed them. Chloé apologized quietly, enduring the glares.

“Alright, it’s probably close to time for us to meet with the landlord and see what we think of the space. Everyone finish their drinks and put a game face on.” Marinette drained her cup. She pulled a notebook and pen from her bag, professional mask firmly in place.

A balled up napkin promptly hit her in the face.

 


	16. High Standards

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boutique crew meet their potential landlady and Marinette vents to Chat in the aftermath.

“Why are we in a jewelry district? It seems rather odd.”

Marinette turned toward Lila, pulling her attention away from the _fromagerie_ she’d been throwing longing looks at. She glanced around the street, seeing only food establishments for the next couple of blocks.

“We’re not? Pretty sure that’s a bar, and I don’t think anyone is wearing that chocolate sample being handed out.” She raised one eyebrow, squinting past Lila in the hopes that the comment would make sense if she just saw what triggered it.

“No, I don’t mean here. This street is fine. And I want that sample, but no. I’m talking about the street this place is supposed to be on. The only things nearby are mostly jewelers, only a few of them sell any clothing.”

A heavy sigh from Alya interrupted the response Marinette was going to give, prompting Mari to glare in her direction.

“Lila, that’s a good thing, it’s low competition.” Alya tilted her head, meeting Lila’s eyes mulishly.

Tilting her head in the opposite direction, Lila smiled back. “Yes, Alya, I know the benefits of not setting up shop next door to competition. But are people going to know to look for us _here?_ Are they going to assume that we are simply more jewelry and never travel to our location at all?”

“God, Lila, if-“

“Alya, it’s a valid question,” Marinette interrupted, “She knows that she doesn’t get a vote on the location, but she _does_ have a lot of experience asking these kinds of questions. We don’t want to find out the answers the hard way.”

Marinette smiled widely, silently willing Alya into at least considering the point.

For a few moments, they walked in silence and Marinette watched Alya’s jaw twitch as she considered the question.

“Yes, it’s oddly placed. But when I spoke to the landlord, landlady I guess, she told me that there’s a decent amount of walking traffic due to the _Square du Temple_ nearby. Lots of people want to come to the area because it’s such a nice tourist attraction with the trees and the _Temple_ restaurant.”

Lila nodded as Alya spoke, and make a slight noise of acknowledgement when Alya mentioned tourists.

“That makes sense. Why did the previous tenants leave?”

“Turns out they were entirely wholesale, no direct sales whatsoever. People would walk in, thinking it was just like any of the other jewelers on the street and that they could peruse the floor for a single piece. But in this case, the owner would kick them out, screaming the whole time. Eventually word of mouth on their behavior killed them.”

Another noise, higher pitched and sounding more like excitement, left Lila’s mouth as she clapped her hands together.

“Excellent, that won’t be a problem for us. Thank you.”

“Sure, no problem.” Alya’s shoulders dropped, relaxing from where she’d raised them like hackles when Lila started asking questions. Marinette laid a hand gently on one shoulder, giving her friend an encouraging smile for not losing her cool too much.

Marinette’s focus drifted when they began to pass by the tree lined park. She wished she had time to sketch out how the light streamed from upper branches down onto the lower ones, causing a cascade of color in its wake.

Slight breezes shuffled the leaves, giving her a color scheme made of emeralds and peridot, and the occasional ruby.

A sharp stinging sensation on her wrist drew Marinette back to reality. She whipped her head around, glaring at Chloé for flicking her.

“Focus, Marinette. No sketchbook today, we have a meeting.” She gave Marinette a predatory grin, clearly pleased to have caught her.

Marinette flushed lightly, shrugging as she tried to play it off. Only to realize she had, in fact, been reaching for a sketchbook in her bag at the moment when Chloé flicked her.

Alya snorted. She grabbed Marinette’s shoulders and wrapped an arm around them as the women stopped at a light for cars to pass. She only removed the arm when they’d made it safely across.

Marinette took a deep breath before looking up at the building that housed their potential location.

It was a small door, neatly sandwiched on either side by larger stores in muted colors. A small space for a sign sat above a stone arch that reminded Marinette of the back entrance to her parents’ home. It had an obvious capstone, with lighter colored material sealing the stone in place. The door was worn and chipped in several places, the paint peeled and torn, and the ironwork in the door’s window had seen better days.

But she could certainly see the potential.

The drab colors of the nearby shopfronts could be used to her advantage if she used a brightly colored polka dotted theme to fit the name of the shop.

The old-world style arch had probably stood strong for decades, and would for years to come.

The small entrance made her feel like she needed to see what was inside, to enter and _explore._ It made her feel like she safely could.

The door...well, that could be replaced.

She grinned up at the place, no longer seeing the front itself, but all the things she would do with it once it was truly _hers._

“This place is great-“

“This place is a dump.”

Marinette’s face fell when Chloé spoke up the moment she chose to voice her opinion. Her lips drew tightly together, pressed into a line across her face. She allowed Chloé to stare at her as if she’d gone mad before shrugging dismissively.

Alya pulled the door handle roughly, wincing as it shrieked upon opening. “It definitely needs some work.”

Lila observed silently, but with the way her features were twisted up, Marinette was pretty sure she could guess where she stood on the matter.

“Let’s just go and see the inside,” she sighed, leading the way up the stone stairs and reveling in the cool, stone insulated stairwell.

As she relished the cool air against skin that had begun to heat in the short walk from the cafe, Marinette tried to relax her nerves. Her neck had tensed a bit, adding to the general nervousness of meeting their future landlady. Marinette raised a hand to massage lightly at her neck.

The stairs led around a corner, and at the second set of steps was another door. This one appeared to be in much better repair, and the group collectively let out a sigh of relief.

Marinette chuckled at the idea that they’d all picked up the same concern over the busted door below them before raising her hand to knock on the dark stained wood.

A muffled invitation was all she needed to twist the brass handle and enter the room.

And upon entering, she forgot to breathe.

Golden oak flooring covered the space that opened directly to wide, sunny windows. The window coverings were light and breezy, and she noticed one of them was gently fluttering in a breeze from a single open window.

The afternoon light filtered in pleasantly, neither too direct nor completely shadowing the room. Brass metal fixtures held the ivory lamps on the ceiling. Marinette’s eyes widened with delight when she noted that the upside-down-umbrella shaped fixtures were actually made of a thick fabric rather than glass or molded plastic.

The only things out of place were the set of deep burgundy lounge chairs in the center of the room and the woman perched in one, her rich black hair in a severe bun and an elaborate silver cane in hand.

Her eyes studied them as the women filed into the room, standing shoulder to shoulder. Her gaze was calculating, sharp, and gave Marinette the impression that her every movement was being evaluated.

“Welcome, ladies. My name is Tomoe Tsurugi, but if I choose to rent this space to you I will be addressed as Madame Tsurugi.”

Her voice was clear without being loud, and Marinette took a moment to appreciate how easily she commanded attention.

_She’s certainly set her stage to impress._

Marinette stepped forward even as Lila and Chloé stiffened beside her. She smiled pleasantly, taking in the elegant lines of the crimson pantsuit Madame Tsurugi wore.

_“Bonjour_ Madame Tsurugi, it is a pleasure to meet you. My name is Marinette Dupain-Cheng, I am our clothing designer.”

She paused for a moment, debating on whether she should step forward to shake the woman’s hand. Madame Tsurugi made no move to reach for her or to acknowledge the statement. Marinette smiled wider and moved on.

“This is Alya Césaire, I believe you have been in communication with her regarding our search for a location. She is also excellent with accounting and bookkeeping, so that will be her responsibility going forward with our endeavor.”

Alya inclined her head slightly and Madame Tsurugi made eye contact briefly before focusing back on Marinette.

“This is Lila Rossi, she is our business and communications expert. She handles our evolving business plans and will be evaluating viability of any projects or product lines we introduce.”

Lila flicked a bit of her hair over her shoulder and beamed, earning a single lifted eyebrow from the stern landlady in front of them. She held the bright smile for a moment longer before frowning slightly, a sure sign to Marinette that she was pouting. Marinette rushed to introduce Chloé before Lila could say anything offensive.

“And this is Chloé Bourgeois, she handles public relations and has secured our funding for the location that we decide best suits our needs.”

Marinette took a deep breath, relieved that all the words came out in the correct order that she’d practiced in front of the mirror for the last four days.

“Ah. Audrey’s girl. I assume your mother is the ‘funding’ you’ve secured then.”

All four women jumped a bit at the acknowledgement of Chloé. Chloé turned to Marinette, the expression on her face all but screaming for help. Marinette nodded as subtly as possible.

Chloé cleared her throat and straightened her spine as she prepared to speak. “Yes, I’m Audrey’s daughter. But no, Madame, my mother is not helping to fund ‘The Spotted Lady’. She’s quite busy with ‘Apis’ and we believed that her assistance might hurt more than help. She won’t have any hand in our business practices and the implication that she might could do a lot of damage to our brand.”

Madame Tsurugi made a small noise before rising to her feet and walking forward slowly. She tapped the silver cane on the ground with every step and the sound shot directly up Marinette’s spine. She straightened with each sharp click until she was eye-to-eye with the woman.

Despite her placement in front of Marinette, she continued to speak to Chloé. “A wise decision. And your uncle?”

Chloé cringed before responding. “Um, yes. Gabriel is our financier, but he has given us the same restrictions as any of his other partners that he has funded. He will also be refraining from giving any assistance with the day-to-day operations.”

“I see.”

Madame Tsurugi gave a slight nod and walked closer to Alya, looking her up and down before moving on to stand in front of Lila.

“Do you have your business plan on hand, Mademoiselle Rossi? I would like to ensure that my location is going to be utilized properly.” She held a hand out expectantly.

Lila smiled back sweetly, digging into her bag and producing a professionally bound copy of their plan. Madame Tsurugi walked back to her chair, sinking into it and resting the cane along the arm.

Marinette violently squashed the urge to fidget while Madame took her time reading over the business plan, making quiet noises that were impossible to read.

When she finished, she lifted her head and beckoned Lila closer. She held the plan out and Lila took it, uncharacteristically silent.

“I require two years of rent in advance plus deposit. You would be allowed to decorate as you see fit, but I will need to approve the changes prior to work being done.” She met Marinette’s eyes once more and the iron will Mari saw there told her there would be no arguing.

“Two years is _obscene,_ Madame,” Chloé fumed quietly. “When my uncle agreed to sponsor us, he would have been shocked to hear that this is what was required.”

Marinette looked over at her, eyes wide and panic prickling at her skin.

"I should hope so," Madame Tsurugi responded, "as pulling his funding prematurely would ruin you. If you wish to make this your career, and not a hobby dabbling in the family business, you should diversify your funding. A minimum fifty-one percent of the initial two years must be funded by someone unrelated to Mademoiselle Bourgeois."

Madame Tsurugi looked each of them in the eyes, taking a moment with each one before moving on. Marinette managed to keep herself from audibly gasping at the demand.

_Fifty-one percent, how in the world are we supposed to come up with that?_

"This is ambitious, but achievable.”

Marinette jumped, certain that the woman could read her mind. _Oh god, magic is real, what do I do if she can, quick think of something else. Oh crap not the Gilligan’s Island theme song._

Madame Tsurugi opened her mouth to speak and Marinette yanked her focus back to the woman in front of her.

“My standards are high. If you fail to meet my metrics, you lack either ambition or talent and your business will fail. I am merely establishing safeguards to prevent a much more painful and expensive disaster down the road.”

“Feel free to take a couple of days to talk it over before you come to a decision. It is not a thing to choose rashly. I will send the contracts over, and if you agree to the terms I will require all four of you to sign. You will receive my response when I have carefully considered your application.”

Marinette nodded, sensing the end of the conversation. “Thank you, Madame Tsurugi. You will hear from us soon, with whatever we decide to do.”

Madame turned her head toward the other wall, and Marinette read it as their cue to go. She tugged on Alya’s arm, and jerked her head lightly toward the door.

The four turned to leave the room when Madame spoke once more.

“Mademoiselle Bourgeois. Speak to your mother, and your uncle. They understand the value of a good location. And the value of paying well for it.” She looked Chloé directly in the eyes. “Their advice will be priceless to you.”

Marinette shoved her friends out the door and into the blessedly silent hallway, desperately hoping she could get them outside before anyone lost their composure.

 

———

 

Head resting against the door of her apartment, Marinette blindly slotted the key into the lock and turned the handle.

She and her friends had allowed themselves to get a block away from Madame Tsurugi’s location before they sat on a bench together and took turns ranting about the events of the afternoon.

Chloé was offended that she was still being closely associated with her family. She grumbled for what felt like hours before begrudgingly admitting that the inside of the building was much nicer than the outer facade.

She only agreed to speak to Audrey and Gabriel when Lila made the point that they weren’t much use as advisors in the field if Chloé refused to consult them.

Alya was fairly indifferent, having seen the prices of the nearby locations before settling on this one. She patiently explained how expensive most of the other rental options were, and how unlikely it was that they were going to find a location explicitly for sale so quickly.

Marinette caught Lila’s mouth opening several times before she’d catch someone’s eye. Each time she did, she would shut her mouth with a click and a chagrined look on her face. When Marinette mentioned the lamps, she lit up and commented excitedly on them as well.

In the end, it was probably going to happen. But Marinette would wait to count that chicken until Chloé was fully on board.

She tossed her bag onto the counter, dropping into her chair and leaning her neck along the back of it. Twisting her head side to side immediately triggered the slight pain she’d been feeling since just before the meeting.

Marinette tried to massage it gently, wincing as she hit tender spots and knowing that a self-massage just didn’t do enough to relive the kind of pain she was feeling.

A loud meow illuminated the room. Marinette found herself grinning down at her fluffy kitten who had appeared in her lap.

“Hey Kitty! Did you miss me?”

**Yes!**

Chat nuzzled his head against Marinette’s chin as she leaned down to kiss his forehead. The little rumbling purr filled the space between them and Marinette chuckled.

“Well Kitty, I think we have a location we want.”

**Yes?**

“It’s a good one, I think. Open, and spacious. I’d have to curtain off areas for working versus customer space, but I think I can make it work for us. There’s tons of light and it’s beautiful. Inside at least.” She twisted her mouth, nose scrunching up.

“The outside is kind of drab, but with the right marketing strategy I’m sure Chloé can sell that. There’s at least one restaurant in the States that manages just fine with an ugly exterior.”

Chat shoved his head into Mari’s hand, meowing loudly. She took the hint and buried her fingers into the fluff at the back of his neck obligingly. He settled his head onto Marinette’s lap as she continued to describe how the meeting had gone.

After a few minutes, she lifted her hand from Chat’s fur to rub at her neck again. Chat responded by letting out a frustrated little rumble and Marinette smiled down at him.

“Sorry kitten, my neck is just really hurting. I tried not to let the stress of the day get to me, but I clearly did. All that tension just settled _right_ into the base of my skull.”

Chat’s head tilted in concern and his ears drooped slightly.

He let out a very quiet meow before rising to place his paws on Marinette’s shoulder. His whiskers tickled the fine hairs on the back of Marinette’s neck.

Marinette giggled and squirmed in her seat, but a stern noise from Chat made her freeze in place. He poked his nose into the space between her ear and head, nuzzling lightly.

The urge to wiggle rose once more when Chat licked her once before pulling away and staring into her eyes.

“What in the world was that, kitten?”

Chat meowed and nudged his head forward, eyes closing. He pulled his head back and returned to staring.

Marinette tilted her head. Her eyes narrowed as she tried to puzzle out his motions.

_My head doesn’t hurt anymore._

Her eyes widened and the beginning of a grin stole across her face.

“Did you take my headache away?” She gasped the words, breathless at the idea.

**Yes.** Chat lifted a paw, licking at it and finally breaking eye contact.

Marinette stared at him, eventually giving into the urge to gather him into her arms and squish him as gently as possible. He fought her for a moment before begrudgingly relaxing into her hold.

A grin firmly in place, Marinette relaxed her hold on Chat just enough for him to squirm free and press his nose to her own. Her smile stretched wide enough to hurt if she held it for too long.  Pressing a final kiss to his forehead, she sat back in her chair.

“You’re the best, Chat. Thank you.”

**Yes.**

Marinette chuckled lightly and booped Chat’s nose with a fingertip.

“I spoke to Chloé about the other night.” His ears fell. “No, it’s nothing bad. She understands that I’m upset and she’s willing to work on helping me trust her again. But she asked if Nino could meet you.”

Chat made a noise that wasn’t quite a meow or a growl and Marinette took it as a sign to continue speaking rather than a real response.

“I did tell her that you’re who she’s looking for, so they don’t need to meet you in order to confirm that. So you don’t actually have to see either of them if you don’t want. It’s completely up to you.”

Chat purred quietly, as if considering the idea.

He stood up after a couple of moments, stretching each limb before jumping to the ground and padding over to his word chart.

Marinette followed and sat cross-legged on the floor beside him.

“Okay, so. Do you want to see Chloé?”

**Yes. But scared.**

“Do you want to see Nino?”

**Yes. But nervous.**

Marinette tilted her head, confused by the word choice.

“Does Chloé have something to do with the thing that happened?”

**Yes no. She was nearby.**

“Were you on your way to see her?” Marinette rolled her shoulders, trying to pop a stubborn kink in her back.

**Yes!** Chat meowed happily and Mari grinned down at him.

“Do you think they can help you? I know you said they could help you be human again, but could they help with the problem you ran into?”

**Maybe. Don’t know.**

Marinette hummed, tapping a finger to her lips. Chat followed the movement with his eyes, waiting for the next question in a seated position and a flick of his tail.

“Why are you nervous about Nino?”

**He maybe mad.**

“We need to get some words on that chart so you can grammar, Chat.”

Chat made an offended noise and Marinette laughed at him. She poked him in the nose again and he snuffled like he’d had to sneeze.

“I’m just messing with you, Kitty, I understand. You think Nino might be mad. Is it because you didn’t come to him for help?”

His ears pinned back. **Yes.**

“Why didn’t you?” She tried to maintain eye contact with Chat but he looked away, poking at the edge of the word chart.

**Don’t know.**

“Okay.”

She leaned backwards onto her hands, stretching out her back muscles. “But you _do_ want to see them. Together? Or alone?”

**Together good.**

“Got it. I’ll let Chloé know soon then.”

**Yes.**

Marinette unfolded her limbs to stand and return to her chair, Chat following closely behind. He landed in her lap just as she slid into the chair and her hands returned to the fluff of his back immediately.

The little purr rumbled out of his chest as he sat facing her, stretching into her touch. Marinette gently lowered her head.

She slowed her motions and watched Chat’s eyes flutter open as she neared his face. He craned his neck toward Marinette and she closed the gap between them, pressing her forehead to his. Marinette’s eyes closed and she savored the closeness.

“You are one of my best friends, Chat. Weird as it is. I want you to know that even if you decide to be human again, you are always welcome in my home. _Our_ home.”

A chirp bubbled out of Chat and Marinette smiled at him blindly.

“I’m sticking with you no matter what. I’ve got your back.”

Chat’s purr intensified and they stayed in that position until Marinette lost track of how long they’d stayed with their foreheads pressed together.

“I know I asked this before, but _do_ you want to be human again? Someday?”

**Yes.** He rumbled the reply, eyes closed and curled neatly on her lap.

Marinette grinned, a teasing note sneaking into her voice. “Is it just to wear that suit I designed for you?”

**...maybe.**


	17. Cat Tendencies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boutique crew discusses Madame Tsurugi’s offer, and Chat’s cat tendencies start getting out of hand.

“Alright ladies, should we get started?” Marinette tapped her pen on the small pad of paper she’d left on her counter, waiting for the chatter over her ear buds to settle. When each of her partners quieted enough for her to hear the light electrical buzz over the phone, she breathed in deeply.

“Thanks guys. So we’ve all had a couple of days to consider Madame Tsurugi’s proposal and I want to know what each of you think about it. She came down on you pretty hard for the family connections, Chloé, so maybe you’d like to go first?”

Chloé cleared her throat and Marinette wished they’d been able to have this meeting in person. It was so much harder to read a room when you weren’t actually in the same one.

“Right. Obviously I don’t _like_ the attitude she was giving me, but I get it. It’s going to be hard to get out of the shadow of my mother and uncle. We all knew that going in.”

A heavy sigh filtered over the line.

“My problem is the finances. Gabriel is allowing us to use his funds for a _location_ and if we don’t use it specifically for that, he’s pretty unlikely to just allow us to reallocate the money. We’re going to need a proposal before I speak to him about it.”

Lila piped up at that. “I’ll handle it. If there’s _any_ chance he’s going to allow us to move those funds around then we need to pitch it like we would to any other investor.”

“Exactly, he’s not doing this as a favor to me. He saw our business plan and he knows how much work is going into this.” Chloé sighed once more.

A pen clicked several times and Marinette tried to place who it came from. She shook her head. Of course she’d get hung up on the irrelevant details right now.

_Focus, Marinette._

“I’ll have a proposal to you by the end of the week. I’ll take what he would have paid if he funded location at one hundred percent, reduce that to forty-nine, and then write the pitch for what we could use the rest of that money for instead.” Lila made a satisfied noise, and Marinette’s shoulders relaxed a bit.

“If anyone can write it to sound appealing, it’s you,” Marinette piped up, a small smile on her face. She chose to imagine Lila with the little happy smirk she got when someone complimented her.

A quiet beat went by before a thought occurred to her.

“Hey, Lila? Could you make sure to send that over to Chloé so she has a physical copy to take over to Gabriel? He might appreciate a _personal_ touch on that one.”

Chloé choked a bit over the line and Marinette’s eyebrows dropped. Had she remembered wrong? Didn’t Chloé’s magic work by physical contact with an object?

“Done. I’ll get it printed, and a nice folder for it like I did for Tsurugi. It should still get to you by the end of the week, Chloé.” Lila finished speaking just as several taps like a pen on paper came over the line.

Chloé sighed, evidently no worse for wear for having choked moments ago. "Guys, I have to ask: Do we even want to do this? I wasn’t lying when I said the amount was obscene."

Lila cleared her throat. "If I could play devil’s advocate for a moment. If Gabriel will allow us to use that funding in other areas, why not? We’re only needing to raise that 51% which is a lot better than some of the other locations we looked at."

“Yes, but we don’t _have_ that. Lila, you told me you dropped your other lines of funding when he agreed to do this. And we all know I’m not allowed to put in most of mine.”

Alya finally pitched in. “Then we go find them again.” She drew in an audible breath before continuing. “I mean, I’ve got some money. Mari has some, we all have some contacts. Why don’t we figure out if this is even possible?”

“Because we don’t have to go with the first place we look at? Come on, there’s other locations in Paris.” Chloé argued, voice sounding noticeably wearier than moments before.

Marinette made a small sound in the back of her throat and the others quieted.

“Well. Let’s think about it. Clearly Madame Tsurugi doesn’t want us to fail. It’s bad for her to have shops in her locations close. I don’t _think_ what she’s doing is in order to rake us over the coals. She doesn’t exactly seem nice, but not malicious either.”

Marinette dropped her head to the counter, but made sure her mouth wasn’t touching so she wouldn’t muffle her next words.

“I think it’s a good combination of location and price and honestly there’s almost no renovations needed except the exterior. The place is gorgeous.”

A wave of murmured assent followed her statement and Marinette grinned into the countertop.

A paw poked at Marinette’s back lightly and she raised her head to see the fuzzy black head worriedly trying to meet her eyes. Mari scratched lightly at Chat’s ears in a wordless attempt to reassure him. She mouthed a quick _it’s okay_ at him before turning her attention back to the call.

“Okay so how about this,” Alya began, “Everyone gives me the amount they can contribute. _Solid numbers only,_ nothing speculative. Chloé, everyone who agreed to any amount, get them to commit. Lila, do the same. Mari, if you and I have anything we can safely give, tell me the number and I’ll add it. Then we go from there. We see if we are _anywhere near_ that fifty-one percent mark and if we are, we can make a proposal to Madame Tsurugi.”

“I told most of my contacts that they weren’t necessary, as I mentioned before,” Lila snippily responded.

“Yeah, we heard you, but I have no _earthly idea_ why you would have done that, Lila.” Chloé snapped back just as angrily. “Gabriel was on for location and not for the rest of the startup costs. There was no reason for you to tell people we were fine. It’s honestly flat-out _stupid_ for you to have done that.”

“You know what, some of us have a _rapport_ with people and don’t treat them as walking checkbooks, Bourgeoise.”

“The _hell_ I do! That is blatantly false, this is a business venture and I’m taking it seriously!”

“Oh hey, there’s that headache again,” Marinette muttered, muting her line for a moment. Chat snickered lightly before rubbing his head against hers.

Marinette un-muted herself and interrupted the argument before it could devolve too badly. “Regardless of smart or stupid, what’s done is done.”

Several muttered curses drifted over the line and Marinette ignored them.

“What’s important is we’re moving from where we are. Lila. If you can get anyone to commit now, please do. Don’t worry about how much, just tell Alya a solid number.”

“Can we get this done by the start of the week, Alya?” Chloé asked, and her voice was a little more quiet, a little more subdued, than before the argument.

“Yeah, probably. We can use the week to decide on all this and send the application to Madame Tsurugi on Monday if everything checks out.” She hummed lightly and Marinette nodded.

“Chloé? I think we should avoid any funding directly from you.” She grimaced.

“What? Why? I’ve got a bit of savings, probably a lot more than your commission savings are. I don’t want to _not_ contribute, especially when you all are.”

Marinette buried her fingers in Chat’s fur, calming slightly as he leaned into her touch and began to purr.

“Just so we can be _really_ above-board on the exact wording. I know Madame Tsurugi said it can’t come from people you’re related to, but I also don’t want to give her the ability to claim we lied about where your money came from either. You can still contribute, but let’s allocate your personal contributions to some other startup costs.”

Chloé groaned. “Ridiculous. But fine. I’ll keep my own funds out of it. This is going to make it harder, you know that right?”

“Yeah, I do.”

Lila broke in, voice loud and demanding attention. “Well, since we all pretty much know where this is going, I have the application filled out and ready to go. I’ll send it to each of you. Sign where you need to and send it back to me please. I’ll send the final draft out to Tsurugi once Alya gets me the check.”

“Lila, it’s not confirmed yet-“ Marinette began.

“Yes, I _know_ , but I’d rather be prepared than caught off guard.”

The tension in Marinette’s neck and shoulders rose again and she forced herself to relax as Chat started to rumble more agitatedly.

“Great. Okay. That’s fine. I’d like for one of us to take it to her in person though. I think it will look more professional, to show her we are taking this seriously.”

The line went silent, only the quiet buzz of white noise over the ear buds Marinette wore. She suppressed a heavy sigh.

“I’ll take it, get all the stuff to me,” she groaned, rolling her eyes.

Chatter broke out once more as Lila and Alya fixed details. Marinette’s phone chimed quietly and she glanced down at it curiously.

**Chloé: _Stay on the line with me once the call is over, please._**

Marinette’s nose crinkled up, but she shot a quick affirmative back to Chloé.

Several moments of hammering out details filled the line and Marinette rose to start dinner for her and Chat.

She went to slip her phone into her pocket, mildly startled when it slid along her hip without going into a fold of fabric. She patted her legs before remembering that she wore leggings for lounging around the house instead of jeans.

Marinette rolled her eyes and tapped the phone to leave it on speaker so she could still hear while making dinner.

She pulled the earbuds from her ears, tossed them onto the countertop next to the phone, and turned to rummage in the fridge.

Pulling two filets of salmon and a bag of carrots out, she dropped them onto the counter near her cutting board. Marinette turned back to the phone to move it closer when she saw Chat crouched in front of her discarded earbuds, batting at it and trying to jam the plug end into his mouth.

“For the love of— Quit doing that!”

The phone call went quiet again as Marinette wrestled the plug out of Chat’s mouth, the furry disaster fighting her the whole time.

“Chat, stop eating plastic! Get it out of your mouth!”

She yanked the ear buds out of his teeth, and threw them into the first drawer she could open. Marinette slammed the drawer shut just before Chat could jump down inside and he grumbled at her for thwarting his fun.

Chloé was the first to start cackling loudly.

Chat jumped at the sound of her voice and his ears dropped. He ran the crook of his paw over his face and Marinette snickered at the show of shame.

Alya managed a breathless, “And you say _my_ cat is a menace,” before anyone else spoke and Marinette growled under her breath at her friend.

“Most of the time he’s not!” She argued back, “But there are times that something will just set him off and he does something _stupid_.”

Chat’s ears pulled back a bit more. He eyed the drawer with a paw twitching on the countertop and Marinette met his eyes sternly as she placed her fingers on the handle to warn him off.

She kept an eye on him as she started a pot of rice in her cooker, tossing a handful of salt and herbs into the mix. And made sure to move the cutting board directly over the drawer he refused to take his eyes off of.

“Can we continue, please?” The sharp irritation in Lila’s voice pierced the few moments of quiet that had followed Chat’s antics and Marinette sighed.

An abrupt growl from Chat caused Marinette to frown in concern and stare at her cat. He refused to meet her eyes, choosing to glare at her phone. She continued to watch him while answering Lila’s question.

“Sure. Any other details to talk about, or have we worked out all the kinks by now?” Marinette split several carrots into quarters before slicing them neatly into flat discs.

Chat finally stopped crouching like he was going to pounce and wandered over to watch Marinette work. Her neck relaxed as she allowed the hope that he was done with her ear buds to creep in.

This time Chloé chose to answer for all of them. “I think we’re good for now. We need to collect those numbers for Alya before we can make a final decision, but the game plan is solid.”

The murmurs of assent matched up with Marinette’s own assessment and the took the opportunity to end the discussion.

“Alright, then I suggest we have another call on Sunday to make sure we’re ready to send the information off to Madame Tsurugi, as long as our finances match up. I’ll speak to you all soon.”

A flurry of goodbyes filled the air as Marinette finished slicing carrots and she took a few moments to heat the pan for her fish.

Swirling the oil around lightly, she slipped both filets into the pan and watched it pop and sizzle. White crept up the sides of the salmon and she waited for it to reach a third of the filet before dropping the carrots in as well. Marinette carefully arranged them around the sides of the fish and settled a lid gently on top of the pan.

“Marinette? You still on the line?”

“I am, Chloé. I’m cooking dinner, so you’re on speaker. What’s up?” Marinette lifted the lid to sprinkle some salt over the contents before replacing it.

“Nothing bad. I just wanted to let you know that I appreciate how accepting you’ve been with the whole magic thing.” Chloé audibly swallowed and Marinette nodded despite her friend not being able to see it.

“Sure. I mean, it’s still weird. But you’re my friend and this is a part of you. I’m... Well, I’m doing what I can to be accepting of all of this.”

“I’ve noticed. And while I’m glad you’re trying to make my abilities a part of this, I have _zero_ plans to imbue any documents for proposals to Gabriel. He’s a _lot_ more powerful than I am and he would shut us down immediately if I ever showed any signs of trying to manipulate him magically.”

“Oh.”

Marinette set her knife down, halfway to chopping a bunch of thyme for the pan of fish.

“I honestly never thought of that. I’m sorry, Chloé.”

“Don’t be! You’re trying and that means a lot to me. It’s just a very tricky dynamic and I can’t afford to mess it up. That’s all I wanted to say, tell Adrien I said hi.”

Marinette lifted her knife again, chopping the herbs before sliding them off to the side of her board. “You can tell him yourself, he’s in the room.”

“Hey Adri- Oh! Mari said you want to be called Chat, didn’t she? Hi Chat, those cat tendencies are getting ridiculous.” She snorted and Marinette had to purse her lips together when Chat’s ears slipped down in a clear pout. He grumbled out a short meowing noise and Chloé laughed.

“Have a good dinner guys, I’ll talk to you soon.”

Marinette slipped the herbs into a bowl, dropping the heat on the salmon, and tidying her workspace. She moved toward the couch before noticing her phone hadn’t actually ended the call.

She idly tapped the end button before scooping Chat up into her arms and plopping down with him to cuddle on the couch until dinner.


	18. Old Friends and New

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nino comes over to speak to Chat about his disappearance, and Alya drops in unexpectedly as well.

Marinette set the eyeliner down when Chat nudged her arm several times in quick succession. When she turned to look at him, he pointed his head down to the laminated card she’d made for him.

He’d done well with the large word board so far but it had been more trouble to talk to each other when in the kitchen or bedroom, so Marinette had made a card with a few key phrases so they could communicate more fluidly.

She tilted her head to the side so she could see the word he was tapping, and chuckled when she realized he was pointing at the word ‘coffee’ followed by a question mark.

She lifted the eyeliner back to her face so she could finish her makeup before their guests arrived.

“Yes, I’ll be making coffee for Nino, Chat. We’re treating him like a guest this time since he had the decency to actually ask to speak to you before coming over.” Marinette growled as she capped the eyeliner.

**Okay?** Chat meowed, eyes as close to concerned as they could be while still feline.

“Yeah, I’m okay. I’m still frustrated about how he lied to get over here in the first place. I adore Chloé and trust her most of the time, but I’d never met Nino. And I’m honestly a little nervous about Chloé not being able to make it here today.”

Marinette opened a makeup palette, staring at the pale pink gradient in front of her before sighing heavily and closing it.

“I’m just scared about all of this. You’ve been relying on me to be able to help you and keep you safe and I feel _wildly_ unprepared for any of this magic stuff.”

Chat rubbed his head on Marinette’s arm again, rumbling low in his chest. She smiled down at him before planting a kiss on the top of his head. The smile widened when he leaned into the display of affection.

Marinette flipped the lid back open and began to play with eye colors in an attempt to feel a _little_ more ready for the conversation ahead of her.

She finished with a touch of sparkle, _A little magic of my own,_ and wandered out into the kitchen to start coffee for her guest.

By the time a knock sounded on her door thirty minutes later, the smell of coffee- _Not the good stuff for him until he proves he’s not a jerk -_ had permeated the small apartment.

Marinette took a deep breath, walked resolutely to the door, and pulled it open as calmly as she could manage.

And blinked at the person standing behind it.

“You’re not Nino.”

“Why no, Marinette, I’m your best friend Alya. Did you get too deep in creating that you forgot someone’s name again?” Alya flashed a wide grin, flipping her hair back over her shoulder.

Marinette rolled her eyes and motioned her friend into the room. “Sorry Alya, I was expecting someone else. He’s due to arrive any moment now.”

“Ooooh, and is he why you got all dolled up today? I see that glitter, girl.”

Alya leaned onto the kitchen counter and propped her head on her hand, batting her eyelashes.

Marinette dropped two cups onto the counter. She filled Alya’s mug before her own and raised it to her mouth for a sip. She glared at Alya for a few moments before sighing and setting the mug down.

“No, I’m not dolled up for him. He’s irritating and I don’t want to speak to him _at all_. But I committed to it and I’m following through. The makeup is battle armor.”

Alya nodded, eyebrows dropping from suggestive level down to understanding. “Ah, yeah that makes sense. Being your own knight in glittering eyeshadow.”

Chat leapt onto the counter, demanding pets. Alya grinned down at him, happy to oblige and snorting small giggles out of her nose.

“Why hello, Chat. Are you also going to be Marinette’s knight for this conversation she doesn’t want to have?”

**Yes,** he responded, and Marinette smiled even knowing that Alya couldn’t possibly have understood him.

She reached out to scratch behind his ears. “He’s the best knight I could ask for.”

The happy rumble he let out while leaning into her hand and closing his eyes made Marinette smile down at Chat fondly.

“So, are you gonna tell me why you’re meeting some guy if it’s not for fun and you don’t want to see him?”

Marinette swallowed.

_Didn’t think I was going to need an alibi for this._

She glanced around the room, eyes settling on the pile of documentation from Madame Tsurugi that Lila had sent over for her personal records.

“I’m hoping he’ll be a good contact for financials!” she declared loudly and far too quickly to be real, but Alya nodded back.

Chat made a small noise that she decided to ignore.

“Yeah, and if he isn’t, then he might be a good networking contact since he’s a DJ! He can introduce us to people that might be able to help us out so I thought it might be a good idea to meet him.”

“Well I’m glad you’re working on all that, I actually came to see if you had any solid numbers for me to add into our calculations for Tsurugi.” Alya pulled her phone out of her bag, tapping momentarily. She slid the device over to Marinette when she found what she was looking for.

Marinette took a moment to try and decode the foreign language of Alya’s accounting data. She knew it was effectively hopeless, but it offered her the opportunity to calm down from the spike of nerves she’d gotten from the lie.

She pursed her lips and gave in. “What am I looking at?”

“The numbers are close. I haven’t added any of my funds, and I haven’t added anything from you. I know Chloé has that meeting with Gabriel today to see if he’ll still help fund us, and that will determine a lot, but I still wanted to see if we could hit that mark.”

Marinette nodded, tilting her head to the side as she thought. “Did any of Lila or Chloé’s contacts come through?”

“Chloé’s did, though a couple weren’t really able to offer as much as they’d promised before. Most of Lila’s contacts fell through. Her mom contributed a good chunk but I really wish she’d kept those contacts instead of burning that bridge so quickly.”

“Yeah, me too.” Marinette tapped a new cell on the spreadsheet, adding her own number from her savings before sliding the device back toward Alya.

“This is as much as I can safely contribute. Let me know when you need it.”

Alya smiled warmly back at Marinette and slipped her phone into her back pocket. She drained her coffee and went to rinse her cup in the sink.

Another knock echoed through the room. Marinette braced herself for Nino’s arrival and Chat quickly padded out of the kitchen once more.

Straight-backed, she opened the door to see him patiently staring down at her. She donned her most professional and disinterested sounding voice before speaking.

“Hello, Nino. Would you like to come in?”

“Um, sure. Thanks, Marinette.” He stepped forward into the room, kicking both shoes off and heading toward the kitchen chairs. He had nearly rounded the corner when Alya stepped out from behind it and slammed bodily into him.

Alya remained standing, but only by grabbing onto the countertop. Nino was less lucky, dropping to the floor and landing heavily on his rear.

“Oh man, I’m so sorry, can I help you up? I definitely didn’t see you coming around that corner.” Alya stretched a hand out to help Nino up from the floor. He accepted, pushing off of the floor as he stood.

“It’s okay, I wasn’t watching either, I- Alya?”

Nino and Alya stared at each other for a moment, blinking awkwardly. Marinette leaned on the counter with one elbow, taking the opportunity to raise her eyebrows suggestively at Alya as her friend had done earlier.

“So, you two know each other then?” She smirked at her friend, forgetting to be annoyed at Nino.

“Um, yeah, from a club or something since he’s a DJ and all that.”

“We went on a date last week.”

Alya and Nino answered at the same time and Marinette’s smirk grew as Alya smothered her face in her palms.

“Oh, is this the guy with the flowers?”

Alya whirled to glare at Marinette, but the look did nothing to stop Marinette from enjoying the opportunity to needle her best friend about her love life. She’d spent so much time being on the receiving end that it was kind of fun to give as good as she got.

Nino brightened at the mention of the flowers.

“Oh, yeah! I’m sure the flowers are dead, but how is the vase? Did it work with your decor the way you thought it would?”

Nino’s face looked so hopeful and Alya’s so panicked that Marinette briefly considered letting this continue without her input, but the opportunity to be just a _little_ passive-aggressive toward Nino after his behavior the other night won out.

“Uh, _yeah,_ it-“

“Her cat broke it.”

It was pretty impressive how their heads could spin toward her in such smooth coordination, really.

“Marinette!”

“Her cat broke it?”

Marinette nodded, raising her eyebrows in a challenge for Nino to say something else. But it appeared to bother him enough that he simply stared at his shoes while Alya continued to glare. Marinette’s mouth stretched into a grimace, and she immediately regretted not biting the words back.

“Okay, well, I need to go and see if Chloé made any progress on her meeting with Gabriel, so have fun with your conversation, Marinette. Walk me to the door.” Alya didn’t give her much of an option, grabbing her elbow and steering her toward the front door of the apartment.

“I swear I’m gonna murder you, that was too far,” she hissed under her breath.

“I know, I’m sorry Alya. I’ll apologize to Nino too.”

“Yeah, you’d better. It was an awkward date, but that doesn’t mean I want to make him suffer for it.” Alya motioned to her eyes and pointed at Marinette before shutting the door behind her. Marinette closed her eyes for a moment before turning back to her other guest.

He’d slumped over her counter, hat off and running his hands through his hair. His face was downturned enough that Marinette couldn’t pinpoint whether he was distressed or agitated.

She walked into the kitchen, pouring a cup of coffee and sliding it directly in front of Nino. He glanced up at the sound of it scraping across the tile.

“I’m sorry. You didn’t deserve that.”

He sighed, taking the mug and cupping it with both hands. “No, I probably did. Maybe not hearing that the girl I gave a nice vase to let it just get broken, but something. I wasn’t kind the other night and I wanted to apologize for that.”

Nino glanced around without meeting her eyes before taking a small sip and wincing at the heat.

“I just got a little distracted when I got here.”

Marinette’s shoulders softened along with her eyes. She leaned onto a palm once more and smiled gently at the man across the counter. “You really like her, don’t you?”

He grinned up at her, lopsided and charming.

“I really do. She’s so honest and brash and _incredibly_ strong willed. I really don’t want to wreck it.”

“When’s the next date?” Marinette poured a little extra coffee into her cup to warm it.

“Mm. Not sure yet. She kind of waffled on giving me an answer. Figured it was best not to push it.”

Marinette watched as Nino took another cautious sip from his mug. They sat in silence, neither quite bringing themselves to break it for several minutes.

Nino eventually cleared his throat when his cup had been almost drained. “So. Chat?”

Marinette glanced around the room, not seeing any sign that the feline was coming back out.

“Well, I figured he was going to come out when he was ready, but it looks like you’re out of luck again.”

“Come on, Marinette,” Nino sighed at her. Marinette glared in his direction and he stilled immediately.

“He is _not a cat_. Clearly you know that. I told Chloé that Chat is who you are looking for, so you don’t actually need to be here. This is a _courtesy,_ one I will gladly remove if you get rude with me again.”

He shrank from her, clipped tone and quiet fury causing him to swallow and lean back in his chair. She held his gaze so intently that the equally angry meow near his elbow caused Nino to jump in his seat.

Marinette glanced at Chat and he pointedly tapped the laminated card he’d retrieved from the bathroom. She thanked him with a scratch behind the ears.

“Ground rules, Nino. Break them and you leave immediately.”

Marinette fixed him with a stare until he nodded consent. She gave a small nod in reply and continued.

“This is how Chat communicates. You ask questions or make statements and he’ll tap a word or phrase on the card. He answers yes or no questions with one or two meows. If you ask something he doesn’t want to answer, _leave it alone._ He has his reasons.”

“And no, you can’t bring him anywhere to fix the problem. Off the table, don’t even ask. Clear?”

Nino nodded again, shifting to look at Chat licking a paw before running it over his ears.

“Dude, where have you _been?_ Did you know we were all looking for you?”

Chat’s ears dropped back a bit and Marinette flinched slightly at the look he got when feeling guilty. He leaned forward to tap the card.

**Here. Yes.**

“Man, you haven’t been here the whole time, have you?”

**No.**

“Where were you then?”

**Difficult explain.**

“Well you need to try!” Nino snapped, rising from his chair and towering over Chat.

Chat held his ground, _counter?,_ glaring back at his friend. “We have been searching for _months,_ Adrien! We thought you _died,_ man! And you just ran off to find a home to stay in? What kind of friend does that to everyone?”

Marinette had been about to shove Nino back from Chat’s personal space, but hesitated.

He’d been really concerned about his friend.

His _childhood_ friend, who had simply disappeared one day. And reappeared but didn’t want to talk about why he’d been gone.

Marinette made her way around the counter, watching the odd standoff happening in her kitchen. She placed a hand on Nino’s shoulder, impressed when he didn’t jump this time.

“Chat, how much can I tell him? It’s going to be hard to use the word chart, but can I tell him what you told me?”

**Yes, please.**

Marinette guided Nino to sit, perching on the edge of the second chair. She took both of his hands in her own and gripped tight when she felt him tremble.

“Chat was running away, but he was on his way to see Chloé. He didn’t intend to leave you in the dark, and as far as I can tell, this was like any other issue involving his father. He was frustrated and angry and he just left the house.”

She glanced at Chat, waiting to see if it was too much. His eyes were clear and seemed unbothered by her telling of the story.

She licked her lips before continuing.

“Something happened to make him stuck as a cat before he got to Chloé’s place. It scared him and he says that you and Chloé could help him get back to normal but it wouldn’t fix the problem.”

Nino’s head turned sharply to Chat.

“So you want the problem fixed before you get back to human form?”

**Yes.** Chat lifted a paw and licked it again, eyes never leaving Nino’s.

“Okay. You know a forced transformation causes problems though, man. You’re going to start having issues with staying as a cat.”

Marinette dropped Nino’s hands, startled. A sharp breath stuck in her chest.

“What kinds of problems?”

Nino waved his hands dismissively. “Usually nothing major, but some of the connections give people weird cravings and behaviors. He’s just going to have a much harder time controlling it.”

Chat’s shoulders hunched and he looked almost shy before reaching a paw out to tap the chart.

**Cheese.**

Marinette’s hands flew to her mouth and she snorted uncontrollably.

Chat dropped his chest to the counter, ears fully pinned down and eyes pinched closed. Marinette laughed until she was gasping for breath, both of them leaving Nino to simply look on in utter confusion.


	19. Complications

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Chat and Marinette talk in the aftermath of Nino’s visit. Marinette finds out more about how Chat’s magic works.

Marinette hummed tunelessly as she washed the coffee cups in the sink. Chat perched nearby, poking his head under the faucet every couple of moments to try and sneak a drink of water.

She giggled and batted his face away from it several times before gathering a few droplets on her fingertips and splashing Chat in the face.

He rolled onto his back, yowling in distress and rubbing at his face with both paws. Marinette laughed at the dramatics and poked Chat in the stomach.

“You have water _right there,_ Chat. You don’t need to be drinking from the sink.”

Chat wrinkled his nose at Marinette before rolling to his feet. He licked a paw, sniffing at her. Marinette turned back to the dishes with an amused little smirk on her face.

Which made it all the more surprising when Chat’s paw darted under the stream of water and splashed it directly into her face.

She stared at him in shock before turning her attention to watch the thin rivulet that dripped off the end of her nose.

“Oh, you’re gonna get it now.”

Chat’s eyes widened. He leapt off the counter with a playful yowl that Marinette took as a challenge to come get him if she could. She soaked her hands before flipping the water off and darting after him into the living room.

Marinette stalked as quietly as she could around their chair, peeking over the edge in an attempt to locate Chat. She jumped when she heard a sharp meow behind her, spinning too slowly to catch him in her watery palms.

She raced after him down the hall to the bedroom, grinning triumphantly when she heard him realize the open window had blown their door shut.

“Trapped now, kitten.”

Chat spun and tried to slip past her, but Marinette was quick enough to wrap her hands around his fluffy middle and lift him off the ground. She crowed in delight at the wail he let out as she smushed a wet finger onto his nose.

Chat let his body go limp in protest. Mari continued to giggle, walking them back into the kitchen to retrieve a towel. She quickly brushed the remaining drops from his fur while smiling down at him. Lifting him back up, she headed toward the living room once more.

Chat rubbed his head against her chin when they reached the chair, allowing her to kiss his forehead gently before dropping down into the plush cushion. He wiggled closer, flopping onto his back and making tiny mewls until Marinette moved to give him the belly rubs he was demanding.

“Can’t stay like this for long, Kitty, I’ve got to work on a few more designs today.”

Noncommittal noises rumbled from his chest in reply.

“I’m serious. Kitty Section’s new costume proposal doesn’t draw itself.” Marinette leaned her head back against the chair. “I’ve just been so busy with everything lately that I haven’t had the time.”

Chat made several annoyed grumbles, but rolled over onto his feet and padded begrudgingly into the kitchen. Marinette hid the amused smile that threatened to steal across her face as she followed him, sliding the drawer with her sketchbook open and pulling the book free.

By the time she dropped back into her chair, Chat had gathered his own supplies as well. He left his laminated word card on the chair while he used his nose to scoot the remote forward on the floor toward Marinette’s feet. She grinned down at him before scooping both cat and remote into her arms and turning the TV on.

A few moments into the hum of background noise and Marinette was already wondering how she’d ever been able to design without it.

Between the low tones of cooking shows and the soft rumbling purrs from the cat snuggled next to her thigh, ideas just seemed to flow easier. She found herself finalizing the designs much quicker than anticipated and sketching additional ideas for accessorizing in the margins of the page.

Marinette stretched her arms over her head. She dropped one arm under Chat’s chin, scratching lightly and watching his face tilt upward, mouth open and sharp little teeth poking out as he enjoyed the scratches.

She dropped a quick kiss to the bridge of his nose, giggling when his eyes blinked open to stare at her.

“Done for the moment, Kitty.”

Marinette flipped the sketchbook closed and set the materials aside. She chose to ignore the happy little dance Chat did by wiggling around on her lap.

“So, do you want to talk about Nino’s visit?”

Chat’s ears slid down, clearly unamused by how she slid from one order of business to the next. Without breaking eye contact he reached a paw out to his card.

**Scratches. Ears.**

Marinette snorted, obliging. She wasn’t going to drop the subject though.

“Here you go, ear scratches. Now. Nino,” she murmured smoothly.

He grumbled a bit, but tapped the card again. **Fine.**

“Are you happy that he’s doing some research into why you’re stuck?”

**Yes no.** He yawned, forcing Marinette to follow suit.

“Okay, why are you not happy about that. Do you think he’ll figure it out?”

**No. Complicated. Magic secrets. Nino not know.**

Her lips pursed together as she restrung the sentence in her head. “Okay, so. Complicated magic secrets, that Nino isn’t aware of? That’s going to keep him from figuring it out?”

**Yes.** His tail flicked once on her lap and Marinette brought her hand down to scratch along Chat’s spine.

“So, you’re not actually upset about him doing the research? It’s that he’s not going to get anywhere?”

**Yes. Yes.**

“Okay, makes sense. Would Chloé know the things that would?”

He hesitated, blinking slowly up at her. **Maybe. Don’t know.**

Marinette sighed, nodding her head.

“Just gets more complicated each time one question gets answered, doesn’t this?”

**Yes.** He licked her hand once, eyes shutting slightly in what looked like a kitty version of a grimace.

 “Oh, I wanted to ask. What’s  your magic? Nino and Chloé told me theirs, and I guess Chloé told me her mom’s too, but they didn’t tell me what you can do. Is that hard to explain?”

Marinette’s tone brightened and she blinked down at Chat with excitement. So many of the things relating to magic were so confusing and frustrating, but she’d desperately wanted magic as a kid.

She was allowed to be a little excited about it being real.

Her face fell when he made a groaning little rumble.

“It’s complicated, isn’t it.”

**Yes.**

Marinette buried her face in her hands, making a groaning noise of her own. “ _Fine,_ we’ll move on.”

**No.** Chat’s tail flicked her arm. **Just complicated. Thinking.**

A little bubble of excitement caught in Marinette’s chest and she held her breath, hoping to keep it. Chat kept glancing around the room, seemingly looking for something. He meowed lightly when he saw the bookshelf. He reached for his card again.

**Need words. More books.**

Marinette stood slowly, giving Chat time to jump off her lap. She began to walk to the bookshelf before stopping mid-stride.

“Chat, why don’t I just get my computer? You can kind of poke at the keys?”

He stared at her blankly.

“Come on, it’s gotta be faster than searching through a random book for the words you want. Even if your paws fat finger everything, isn’t it worth a shot?”

His shoulders dropped and he stared up at her with a pout. **Yes.**

“Great!” Marinette grabbed her computer and plopped back into the chair, bringing up a blank word document and beckoning Chat back onto her lap.

He landed short of the computer, perching on Marinette’s knees until she moved the laptop into a more comfortable position for them both.

“Okay, so you can change into a cat, we know that much.”

**Yes.** Chat didn’t look up at her, staring down at the keyboard with a paw raised. He poked at several keys, seemingly testing his ability to type the words he wanted. When he paused to look at her, Marinette hit the enter key a couple times so he had a blank slate once more.

Marinette watched as Chat typed out “Luk” before meowing angrily and shaking his paw. He jabbed at the delete key, glaring when he felt Marinette’s chuckle.

“Alright, you’re fine, try again.”

Through endearing little grumbles, he began to more carefully poke at the keys again.

**Luck.**

“You’re lucky?”

She could almost hear him sigh when he shook his head and meowed a no at her.

**Adrien changes probability. Chat is a cat.**

“Oh, hey you can use grammar now.” Marinette had to stifle a snort at the offended yowl that Chat let out, before reassuring him she’d be serious now.

“Okay, sorry, sorry. No magic as Chat then?” She threaded her fingers back into the fur at the scruff of his neck and listened for the little purr he usually let out.

**No?** His head tilted to the side.

“Was that a question? Are you not sure?”

**No.** He hunted for keys again. **Not sure. Magic not reliable as cat.**

“Okay. But as Adrien, it is?”

**Yes.**

“I’m confused. You change probability? What does that have to do with luck?” Marinette watched carefully as Chat painstakingly searched for the words he wanted.

**Looks like luck. I shift probability. Make things more or less likely to happen.**

“Oh. That sounds really useful actually.”

Chat nodded before meowing a yes. **Subtle too. Hard to track me.**

“Is that why you don’t know if it works while you’re Chat?”

**Yes.**

“So how does changing probability make you a cat?” Marinette tilted her head, trying to make the connection but feeling like she was missing a crucial piece of information in order to do so.

**Doesn’t.**

She lifted one eyebrow when Chat didn’t elaborate, and he pawed at her leg. Chat avoided eye contact and chose to knead at her without responding.

“Chat, either tell me or don’t, but please don’t sit there and make me figure it out. We both know you didn’t tell me enough to get to the right conclusion on my own.”

Marinette removed her hands from Chat’s fur and deliberately placed them on her upper arms. His ears drooped.

**Hard to talk about. Father doesn’t like it.**

Marinette’s posture softened immediately. She let one hand fall to Chat’s back reassuringly, but didn’t pet.

It didn’t seem to be the time for it.

“It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it. Just tell me that.” Marinette’s shoulders rose a bit, pinching her neck muscles uncomfortably and prodding her to remember that she’d get a headache if she stayed like this for too long.

It hurt to think that he might not want to talk to her. To share this part of his life with her.

She wanted so badly to help him, whatever that looked like.

**I do. Just hard.**

Marinette nodded, her heart in her throat as she waited to see if he’d say anything else.

**Ask Chloé. Invokers. She can explain.**

Her back straightened, delighted to hear that Chat still wanted to talk to her about this. That he didn’t want to close off.

“Will she, though? She told me there were certain things she couldn’t talk to me about.”

**Tell her I said to. She’ll listen to me.**

Marinette nodded, satisfied that it would at least get Chloé to think about talking on the subject. She definitely seemed to respect Chat’s opinion.

She buried her fingers back in Chat’s fur, thinking about what he’d said so far. The questions just multiplied the more she understood. Marinette stared at the TV, not really seeing anything beyond colors flickering across the screen while lost in her own head.

She nearly jumped out of her skin when her phone rang underneath her. Marinette scrambled to grab the laptop before it hit the ground, flinging Chat off her lap instead with a startled screech and a thud.

Fumbling with the phone, she managed to jam her thumb on the screen to answer the call with an breathless hello.

“Hello? Marinette? Are you alright?”

“Fine! Thanks Lila, I just almost dropped my phone and panicked for a minute there.”

The warm chuckle that drifted over her phone prompted a smile on Marinette’s face. She gently returned her laptop to the drawer it called home and ignoring Chat stalking off into the other room.

“Okay well, hope nothing broke this time. I have all the documentation signed and ready to go. Can I drop by tomorrow and get them all to you? That way if all the finances are in order, you’ll already have everything available to drop off with Tsurugi later this week.”

Marinette retrieved her sketchbook and pencils from where she’d dropped them on the floor earlier. “Sure, that sounds fine. I don’t think I have anything going on tomorrow, you can drop by anytime.”

“Wonderful, I’ll see you then.”

“Bye, Lila.”

Marinette dropped her phone onto the counter, and glanced around for Chat.

_Huh. Probably pouting since I accidentally launched him._

“Hey Kitty? How do you feel about chicken cordon bleu for dinner? You can have a tiny amount of cheese in it.”

The half-hearted attempt to glare at her when he raced into the room was promptly ruined by the excited flick of his tail.


End file.
